The decision to scrap the borough’s youth magazine will not be reversed, but the publication may continue in some other form, it has been revealed.

The borough’s teenagers were left reeling by Richmond Council’s announcement that the July edition of Outskirts would be the last.

Councillor Nick True, leader of Richmond Council, said the authority could not afford the £36,000 per year cost of producing and printing the magazine, but said he would do what he could to keep it going in an electronic form.

He said: “The proposal would be to have an online journal which would be published on the council’s youth web and on school websites.

“It would keep the team together and we would look at getting them some limited design support.

“Over time we would see if we could use the design and journalistic talent in the borough to see if we could get volunteer or guest designers to come forward, issue by issue.

“The youngsters involved would meet new people with new talents.

“It would keep the savings we have made as far as taxpayers are concerned.

“The magazine will not continue to be published – the costs are not sustainable.

“Even if we brought in designers [and published online] it would reduce the costs to about £3,000, and still give us a saving of more than £30,000 – it seems to be a good outcome.”

The closure of Outskirts comes soon after the announcement that Arcadia, the council’s glossy magazine, would cease production, in a move set to save the authority £75,000 a year.

Councillor Stephen Knight, leader of Richmond Liberal Democrats, has launched a campaign to save Outskirts, and a group has been set up on social networking site Facebook which has more than 250 members.

Amy Feltham, 17, one of the teens who produce the magazine, called for it to be saved and said the team would do what it could to keep it going.

Councillor Ellen Day, Richmond Liberal Democrats’ youth spokeswoman, issued another call for the decision to be reconsidered.

She said: “The Conservatives haven’t consulted any young people before deciding to scrap their magazine, despite election promises to consult residents on everything.”