Nearly 700 businesses in Kingston who are likely to be asked to pay for Crossrail should be repaid with more investment in transport locally, an MP has said.

Firms from across London will be asked to pay from their business rates from next April, to pay for the high-speed east to west route which will link Heathrow with the City and Canary Wharf.

Kingston companies above a rateable value of £50,000 would be asked to contribute £2.57m in total - 1.4 per cent of the total cost.

Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park and north Kingston said: “In return, we must get real investment to solve some of the transport problems we have locally.

“While extensive works are going on at weekends to improve the Tube network, we are seeing very little gain locally.

“The quid pro quo for the support from our area must be more investment to reduce overcrowding, increase train capacity and mitigate the effects of Airtrack on level crossings.”

Last week the Liberal Democrats who control Kingston Council said they were “angered” by the funding proposals, despite a report saying Kingston could reap up to £18.3m from benefits as “better paid” Londoners spend their money in the borough.

In 2004, an official report said the potential cost of the Kingston extension was close to £1bn, effectively ruling out the link.

To comment on the proposals visit london.gov.uk/crossrail-brs/survey/index.htm.

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