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Islington Town Hall yesterday (Thursday) dramatically mounted a court challenge to plans that would close Caledonian Road tube station for eight months.

Transport for London said in December that it would shut the station from March 7 until October this year to refurbish its two 30-year-old lifts, which fail once a week.

The plans have caused uproar among councillors, residents and businesses – 10,000 ­people use the station every day. An online petition against the plan has attracted almost 8,000 signatures.

Islington Council transport chief Councillor Claudia Webbe said: “We have been left with little choice but to take action on behalf of local residents. We urge TfL to reconsider, to repair one lift at a time, and keep this vital step-free station open.”

The council has now applied to the Royal Courts of Justice for a judicial review.

The authority will argue that an alternative would be to repair the lifts one after another, allowing the station to remain open while the upgrade takes place.

The Town Hall claims that TfL did not have due regard to its public sector equality duty when deciding to close the station, and that the closure discriminates against disabled and elderly people.

Caledonian Road is one of the capital’s “step-free” stations, which make up just one in four of all underground stations across the network.

Cllr Webbe added: “Closing Caledonian Road station for eight months will have a huge impact on the community, especially disabled and older people.

“We have asked TfL to look at repairing one lift at a time and keeping the station open, which would be a big help to disabled and older people, but they haven’t done this.”

The Town Hall will claim that “no consultation or discussion was carried out with the council before the decision was made to close the station”. It points to the “failure to take into account relevant considerations, including the economic impact of closure on local businesses”.

Caledonian ward councillor Paul Convery welcomed the challenge, telling the Tribune: “We are not grandstanding or squaring up for a fight here. We hope TfL will look at this calmly and carefully and come to a better position.

“My gut feeling is that TfL will realise they made a mistake.”

A judge will consider the application and decide whether to grant an expedited rolled-up hearing – meaning that the application for a judicial review and, if permission is granted, the substantive hearing, are carried out at the same time.

TfL initially planned to close the station on Monday, but agreed to delay the closure date until March when Tufnell Park station will reopen.

It has advised travellers to use Holloway Road tube station and Caledonian Road and Barnsbury Overground station or 91 and 259 buses during the station closure.