Good life is over as London suburbs face bleak future

With good schools and low crime rates, London's suburbs have long been popular.

But now their very future is under threat, according to a report by the London Assembly.

Instead of representing the ideal compromise between town and country, the capital's suburbs are at risk of becoming semi-detached dormitories that depend on private cars and lack local jobs and community spirit.

In the all-party report, the Assembly expresses concern thatwhile the suburbs are home to nearly two thirds of Londoners, they have lost out to more central areas in terms of regeneration and "are quietly struggling to adapt to significant challenges that are changing the face of suburbia as we know it".

The Assembly notes that the Mayor has set ambitious-targets for each borough-to increase housing stock over the next 10 years - almost half of all new housing in London will be built in the suburbs.

Yet Ken Livingstone's London Plan also forecasts a loss of employment in the suburbs, with jobs going to either the centre of the city or towns beyond the M25.

The report identifies a need for the Mayor and boroughs to boost local employment, increase investment in public transport and manage the balance between housing growth and the suburban environment.

Tony Arbour, chairman of the Assembly's planning and spatial development committee, said suburbs were popular because they offered "a welcome break from the bustle, the noise and the dirt and the cramped greyness of much of city life".

He added: "Londoners from Hampton Wick to Hackney Wick would say that they live in their own local community. Places in their own right make up suburban London and they need to retain the character that attracted people there.

"We need to reconnect homes with local jobs, unite communities with community assets and strike the right balance between housing and green space.

"Without this reconnection, the future for even more Londoners will be a long commute on an overcrowded train, or a trip in the car just to get to a shop."

The report notes that although the suburbs are regarded as stable, they now face significant challenges, including the closure of local shops.