Islington Labour’s St George’s ward councillors have joined forces with local residents who are dismayed at plans by Transport For London to close Tufnell Park Tube Station for possibly 7 months starting in February 2015.

TfL is planning to renovate the lifts in the station, but had decided to give the local community hardly any notice of the closure.

A petition against the plans has been launched and you can send TfL a message by clicking here.

St George’s ward councillor, Nick Ward, said: “We were totally shocked to discover TfL’s plans and we are appalled that they didn’t see fit to consult the local community.

“Closing Tufnell Park station for 7 months would be devastating for so many businesses. Renovating the lifts is necessary, but closing the station for 7 months will have a disastrous effect on local businesses that rely on the footfall that the station brings in and are already struggling to pay ever rising rents. It will also cause untold amounts of disruption and inconvenience for the thousands of people that use it for commuting to work every day.

“We’ve already been out collecting signatures and have received support from hundreds of residents. We need to show TfL the strength of feeling in the community against these plans, so I’d encourage residents to sign the petition on the Islington Labour website.”

Cllr Ward and his fellow ward councillors have called upon TFL to meet with the community to explain their plans before they sign any contracts for the project.

Cllr Ward is also asking TfL to look into ways to renovate just one lift at a time in order to keep the station operational and reduce the impact on tube users and local businesses.

Local Tufnell Park residents have set up a Facebook group and twitter account (@SaveTufnellPark). Please follow them to find out more information and get involved in the campaign.

Pictured: Islington Labour councillors and local residents collecting signatures against the proposed closure of Tufnell Park Station.