A �30 million kitty has been set aside by City Hall to help create public areas outside stations along the Crossrail route.

TfL’s Board has stumped up a contribution to a ‘public realm’ project, in time for the ‘super tube’ opening in 2018.

Crossrail has to carry out improvements outside each station—but claims it has more ambitious plans beyond its legal requirement.

It could boost trade at Whitechapel which has already had months of disruption, with the closure Cambridge Heath Road where excavation for the new interchange station has begun.

The scheme would include an open forecourt with a bigger entrance and more space than the present Underground station frontage in Whitechapel Road, as well as a new concourse over the existing East London Line.

Crossrail’s �90m ‘public realm’ programme across London already has �28m in the bag and now TfL is adding its �30m share.