Sutton is set to miss out on millions of pounds by having to contribute to a rail project miles from the borough.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson is consulting on plans to charge a tax on new developments in London to help pay for the £16bn Crossrail project.

Sutton Council can ask developers of major commercial and residential building projects to pay for improvements in the borough as a condition of their projects being given the green light.

The cash is usually spent on facilities like parks and leisure facilities.

But Boris Johnson’s plan would see a slice of the funding taken from Sutton and invested in the rail project instead.

Colin Hall, a member of Sutton Council’s executive, said he felt it was unfair Sutton was having to pay and said he would be speaking to other outer London boroughs about opposing the plans.

He said: "Crossrail will have no tangible benefit to Sutton, which is a long way from the new line.

"Until the mayor makes improvements to Sutton's rail network we should not have to foot the bill."

The new 21km rail line will connect Maidenhead and Heathrow in the West to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in east London, passing beneath central London.

Mr Johnson argued every London borough will get an annual economic boost of at least £15m from the Crossrail project so should contribute.

The levy would equate to £20 per sq m of every new development in Sutton given planning permission from Spring 2012.

Boroughs closest to the new rail lines will be charged the most, at £50 per sq m.

Mr Johnson hopes to raise £300m for the project through the levy.

He said: "There is no underestimating how important Crossrail is to the future of this great city.

"Every corner of London will benefit once construction is complete and despite the current financial pressures, I am committed to ensuring London meets its fair share of the cost The consultation on the proposals runs for six weeks, with comments to be received by March 1."

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