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TRANSPORT for London will not consider a Tube extension to East Croydon in the next phase of plans to extend the Bakerloo line to Croydon.

In July, Croydon Council unveiled an ambitious bid to bring the Underground to the borough as part of the Bakerloo extension.

But the transport body has effectively ruled out East Croydon as a potential destination in a report assessing more than 200 options for the extension put forward during last year's public consultation.

The proposed extension was for the Bakerloo line to be extended from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, then to Elmers End and then to East Croydon.

Council leader Tony Newman said that despite TfL's report there remains a very strong case for the Bakerloo line to come to Croydon.

"With respect to TfL, as an elected politician, I'll take those decisions with other elected politicians," he said.

The report narrows those options down to six potential expansion "corridors", including a route to East Croydon.

And though no final decision has been taken, the assessment report effectively rules out East Croydon as a realistic option.

It says that any "Underground" route making use of existing rail connections would mean a slower service with fewer trains than National Rail services currently provide.

Furthermore, it says a tunnelled route from Elmers End to East Croydon would have a "significant adverse impact on the built and natural environment" because of a lack of suitable areas for construction and tunnelling works.

The report also says a Bakerloo extension to Croydon "has low potential to support further growth [in the area]" because homes and jobs growth in the borough "is already under way".

"There are [already] planned transport improvements to support that growth," it says.

Councillor Newman said TfL had "short-changed Croydon for too long", and said the future Westfield-Hammerson development and a potentially rebuilt Fairfield Halls would make Croydon a destination that more south east Londoners would want to visit than ever before.

"There's a very strong case for saying that many people, perhaps living in Lewisham or at any point in between Lewisham and Croydon, may want to use new transport infrastructure to come into Croydon because there'll be new retail and cultural attractions," he said.