Kentish Town underground station closes on June 26 [Mike Quinn]

TRANSPORT for London has been criticised for its “terrible” communication after suddenly announcing a Northern line tube stop will be shut down for up to a year.

The imminent closure of Kentish Town underground station prompted warnings of “another hit” for businesses that have yet to fully recover from the impacts of the pandemic. TfL said on Thursday that Kentish Town tube station will close to allow for “vital” works on the escalators, which it said “are the most unreliable on the tube network”.

The works are slated to begin on June 26, but this week multiple businesses based near the station told the New Journal the news had taken them by surprise, adding TfL had not contacted them to give them advance warning of the works.

Mo Miah, who runs the Babuji restaurant opposite, said: “I didn’t know anything about it.”

He added: “We could’ve have had some input into it, [to] find a solution where we have a halfway house.

“I suspect the tube station does need some investment, but it’s really finding a way of carrying out that work while not having a big impact on the community. It’s going to have such a major impact on the local economy.”

Mo Miah at Babuji

Last time it was closed for repair works, Mr Miah estimated revenues “dropped by somewhere between 20 and 40 per cent”.

He added the closure came at a time when businesses are still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic. “The footfall on the high street has dropped significantly post-Covid,” he said.

Ihsan Khan, who recently took over Kentish Town Fruit Bowl, said: “After Covid, it’s completely different”, adding that the station’s closure signifies “another hit” to businesses in the area. Mr Khan, who leases the premises from TfL, said he will be pushing the operator to “help us with the rent” while the station is closed.

“A year is a long time,” he said.

This was a sentiment echoed by Ahad Das, of Simply Fine Foods, who said: “Partial closure? Yes. Complete closure for a year? I don’t know what they’re doing.”

Max Jacobs and Sam Barnett at the Bean About Town stand

Sam Barnett, who works at Bean About Town coffee stand, said he had found out about the works from a customer. “It’s unfortunate, it’s going to disrupt the flow of our businesses,” he said. “A little bit more warning… would have been helpful.”

Ollie Lewis, head of promotions at the new Parakeet pub, said he was hoping local people would come together to support the pub while the tube was closed.

“Obviously it’s not ideal… we’re trying to look on the positive side. We’re a neighbourhood pub so we’re hoping it means local people will get behind us and support us,” he said.

The Parakeet has recently opened close to the station

Sarah Hoyle, who runs the Kentish Town Community Centre in Busby Place, said she had found out about the closure online. “What’s really unfortunate about this is the redevelopment could be really good, and it’s a real missed opportunity – because the communication has been terrible,” she said. “I just think TfL should seek to understand communities more, they should seek to try and understand the impact that they’re making.”

The Overground Thameslink service will still operate at the station during the closure. At a Disability Oversight Panel Meeting at the Greenwood Centre on Tuesday evening, residents asked TfL to use the year closure to also install step-free access at Kentish Town station.

But a representative from TfL said that despite committing £20m a year to improve accessibility across Tube and rail, it will not be installing a lift in the station.

Iain Killingbeck from TfL said: “Building a lift in the station is really complicated and we need to look at funding the money to put in a lift. We haven’t got that at the moment. We need to replace the escalators that are really old and failing. It’s one of the worst performing stations in terms of escalators. We will be really improving the ticket hall. We don’t take this lightly, it’s been a difficult decision but you’ll end up with a really nice station.”

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A TfL spokesperson said: “We explored in detail every option to keep Kentish Town Tube station open during the essential escalator replacement work but, due to safety considerations and space constraints, it’s sadly not possible. The vital replacement programme will see both escalators at Kentish Town Tube station, which frequently cause last-minute station closures leading to disruption for customers, replaced with new, high-performing machines.

“Local businesses will receive information from us this week about the construction impacts and will be kept informed on the progress of the works once they’re underway. We will also hold drop-in sessions for local residents and businesses in the coming weeks, in addition to a widescale customer communications campaign in the run up to the work starting. We are also available to visit any local business to discuss the works, at their request.”