Sutton has joined other outer London boroughs in hitting out at the GLA for putting their futures in jeopardy by cutt'ng them out of regeneration funding.

At a meeting in Harrow on Wednesday members of the GLA regeneration funding investigative committee heard how pockets of decline in Harrow, Hillingdon, Sutton, Merton, Redbridge and Kingston made it difficult to attract private investment.

Principal business development officer Mick Smart, from Merton Council, was among other outer London representatives who said a significant number of pockets within their boroughs did not fit the stereotypical perception of comfortable, leafy, suburban life. Instead, there was rising crime and unemployment, declining centres, housing pressures and transport problems.

And they had been unable to get public sector funding to improve things because at borough-wide level they were not as deprived as places in inner London.

Regeneration funding investigative committee chairman Eric Ollerenshaw said: "Outer boroughs provide homes for 56 per cent of Londoners, yet it is clear that they are being sidelined when it comes to funds.

"There is a crisis developing in the suburbs and it is time the Government, the Mayor and the London Development Agency paid some attention before it is too late."

The consultative exercise is part of a study into regeneration funding for the capital.

Wednesday's meeting signalled the start of a series of on-site meetings with the outer London boroughs to record their views for a report due out early next year.

October 23, 2001 11:00