Lambeth Council has given the green light for a 130,000 sq ft retail space to be created underneath Waterloo Station. The £60 million development is part of a wider £800 million revamp ahead of improvements to train routes serving the station.

The new complex of shops and restaurants will be situated underneath the five former Eurostar platforms which have been disused since the service moved to St Pancras.

David Joy, chief executive of London and Continental Railways, said: “We are working with Network Rail to reopen the former Waterloo International Terminal for passenger use, providing much needed railway capacity and retail space on the lower levels, with a mix of independent, high street and food stores. Our ambition is for the project to match the quality of St Pancras International.”

The new project is expected to generate 700 new jobs on completion, as well as hundreds of others during the construction process.