A bill to scrap taxing south Londoners for the upkeep of the Lee Valley has been presented to Parliament following a campaign from this website and a coming together of MPs.

The legislation, proposed by Kingston MP James Berry this afternoon, calls for an end to the unfair tax levies on south Londoners for the park’s upkeep, which will cost the capital's 32 boroughs more than £10m this year.

In 2016/17, Wandsworth Council paid £359,235, Croydon £336,552, Kingston £172,414, Merton £203,788, Richmond £247,862.76 and Sutton £201,623.64 for its maintenance– despite only 4,000 visits from Sutton residents the year before.

READ MORE: Your Local Guardian calls for end to Lee Valley tax on south west Londoners ahead of Mayoral election

Your Local Guardian and News Shopper launched a petition in 2012 against the unfair tax.

In a speech in which he mentioned the campaign, Mr Berry said: “Like so many people in this country I love our parks and open spaces.

“I enjoy walking in the stunning parks we have in south west London almost every weekend.

“All of these parks are open for the public to enjoy and all are maintained with Kingston taxpayers’ money. Local tax payers pay for their regional parks.

“It’s no longer sustainable that hefty sums are levied on London boroughs that are miles away and seldom used by the residents.

“The Lee Valley Regional Parks Act passed through this house over 50 years ago, when the financial position of local authorities was very different to that today.

“It is simply not right that vast sums are being levied year on year by the Lee Valley authority on borough like Kingston to pay for the upkeep of a park many miles away that is seldom used by residents.”

According to this year’s levy figures, an individual visit from a Sutton residents will cost the taxpayer on average £46.92 per visit.

For Waltham Forrest, in which the 10,000 acre park sits, the average cost is a mere 32p.

Wandsworth Times:

Lee Valley park will cost Londoners £10m this year 

Since 1967, Government legislation has meant all 32 councils have paid for the maintenance of Lee Valley, which is the capital’s largest park and hosted events in the 2012 Olympics.

Richmond Council leader Lord True attempted to amend the Government’s housing bill last year, looking to phase the tax out over four years.

He told the House of Lords: “It is simply a tax - taxation without representation - for many London authorities that pay the lion’s share, have few visitors to the park and no representation on the board, while other districts that pay nothing do."

Conservative MPs Stephen Hammond, Tania Mathias, Paul Scully and Teresa Villiers have all backed the bill.

Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, which holds the park, said: “I’m a regular user of the Lee Valley Park Authority Spaces.

“I always as a young child enjoyed the parks of Kingston, my grandparents living in Surbiton, and it’s for that reason I believe that this legislation that the gentleman proposes is fundamentally misguided because he misses the point of the value of regional parks for London and for our residents and constituents, for the benefit of developing and maintaining beautiful spaces.”

The bill will return to Parliament for a second reading on Tuesday, March 21.