A park in north-east London should not be funded using “hefty sums" taken from councils in other parts of the capital, MPs have heard.

James Berry, Tory MP for Kingston and Surbiton, wants to end the annual £10.1 million levy paid by all London councils to maintain the Lee Valley Regional Park.

He is proposing an amendment to the Lee Valley Regional Park Act, which would remove the tax for local authorities outside the area as they face pressures to fund vital services.

The park, a 10,000-acre green space running through north-east London, Essex and Hertfordshire, was in the spotlight when it hosted cycling and canoeing events during the London Olympics in 2012.

Mr Berry told MPs: "I have no quarrel with the Lee Valley Regional Park. It is an excellent facility enjoyed by many, many Londoners.

"My simple contention is that, at a time when councils are having to reduce their own parks budgets, it is no longer justifiable that hefty sums are levied on London boroughs to maintain a park that is miles away and seldom used by their residents."

He called for a "radical review" of funding and suggested that Lee Valley could be funded by the Government, similarly to the Royal Parks.

Outlining his plans, Mr Berry added: "Councils are having to retreat to meeting the increasing demand of statutory services like adult social care at the expense of discretionary services including parks."

He argued that many residents from his south-west London constituency rarely visited Lee Valley, pushing the average price a visit to £46.92 for people in Sutton and £32.15 for Kingston residents.

However, the average price paid per visit for a person living in Waltham Forest stands at just 32p.

Labour MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, objected to the proposals, saying the park was London's "green lung" which should be preserved amid growing concerns over air pollution in the capital.

Ms Creasy said: "It's not just about whether people are coming [to the park], it is this concept of a green lung.

"The quality of air in our city has never been worse. I'm sure he has constituents like I do, coming to him deeply, deeply concerned about air quality in London.

"The value of our green spaces therefore becomes even more paramount, not just to those who live in the area."

MPs decided the Bill should be given leave to be debated and it is due to return to the Commons on March 24.

A Lee Valley Regional Park Authority spokesman said: “We understand the financial pressures local authorities are under.

“In response to this, we have cut the levy paid through council tax, which partly funds our work, for the seventh consecutive year.

“It is down 40 per cent, some £4.7 million, in real terms over this period. It is now 88p per person per year in London, Essex and Hertfordshire, and lower than it was in 2004/05.

“The park is a regional, not local, asset drawing seven million visits annually from across the levy paying region.”