A station link proposed 18 years ago has finally been officially opened to the public.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony at Ray Dudley Way took place on Friday.

The footpath between Walthamstow Central and Queens Road is named after a dedicated campaigner who worked to get the link opened between the two stations for many years.

Planning permission was agreed in 1996 for the pathway but legal difficulties meant work was not carried out as promised by The family Housing Association.

The council took the case to the High Court in an attempt to secure progress.

The authority then secured an agreement to carry out the work and charge the housing association.

In 2008 Solum Regeneration agreed to build the path as part of its housing and hotel development next to Walthamstow Central.

Permission was granted in 2011, but further delays ensued, with a defect in a ramp blamed for the latest deadline of June being missed.

Ray Dudley, a member of the Barking-Gospel Oak Line User Group (BGORUG), died in April 2005, but was remembered at the event by having the footpath named in his honour.

The link has been open for six weeks but the council’s ceremony was held on Friday after signage works were complete.

Until now, people walking between the two stations have had to follow a 700 metre (0.4 mile) route along Edinburgh Road, Shrubland Road, Sylvan Road, Priory Avenue, Hoe Street and Station Approach.

The new station interchange cuts this distance in half.