Edinburgh North-South tramline: Councillors agree to prioritise southern section to Royal Infirmary but keep northern leg to Granton on table
‘You have to be mindful of the political make-up of this council and what the art of the possible is’ - Cllr Stephen Jenkinson
Councillors have backed the business case for a new North-South tramline and agreed to prioritise the southern section from the city centre to the Royal Infirmary, while retaining the "ambition" of a northern leg to Granton.
An attempt by the Lib Dems to "unequivocally rule out" building the tramline on the Roseburn Path failed. And Tory calls for the whole project to be scrapped were thrown out.
The transport committee also agreed the new tramline should be taken forward as part of a wider regional project for South East Scotland, SEStransit.
Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said his vision for the future of mass transit in Edinburgh was the full North-South route via the Roseburn Path and linking up with a reopened South Suburban railway running tram-trains.
And he hailed the decision as a key milestone. “Edinburgh is the fastest growing city in Scotland, growing at twice the rate of Glasgow, in the fastest growing region in the country. Whilst this trend brings exciting opportunities, inward investment, and economic growth, it also presents real challenges on housing, education, and of course on our transport infrastructure. Doing nothing in the face of these significant issues is simply not an option.”
But he said: "You have to be mindful of the political make-up of this council and what the art of the possible is."
With the Lib Dems and SNP opposed to using the Roseburn Path route and the Conservatives against the project as a whole, the minority Labour administration did not have the numbers to get the northern section approved.
But Labour, SNP and Green councillors voted together to accept the recommendations of officers to prioritise the southern leg and not drop the idea of trams to Granton in the longer term.
SNP councillor Danny Aston said the city centre and the airport were already served by the tram and the Royal Infirmary and the BioQuarter were the highest "journey generator" site not on the tramline.
"We're talking thousands of workers, thousands of patients and visitors plus large-scale housebuilding to come and it sits in the middle of the biggest concentration of multiple deprivation in the city.
"Granton, of course, is one of the biggest development districts in the country, and also has a large concentration of multiple deprivation and needs mass transit to connect it.
"But we have to be clear here: no suitable has at present been identified for that. The SNP has been unequivocally clear that we can't support Roseburn and the Orchard Brae route is riven with problems, therefore we want further work to look at other potential routes to the north."
Lib Dem transport spokesman Kevin Lang said the consultation on the new tramline showed 68 per cent opposed using the Roseburn Path and only 23 per cent supported it.
He said: "We are supposed to be a local council that cherishes greenspaces, that prioritises safe spaces for people to walk, wheel and cycle. And I just do not buy the suggestion that the path is wide enough for a two-track tram system and an active travel corridor."
Green councillor Chas Booth said putting the northern section on ice risked further disadvantaging some of the city's most deprived communities. "Muirhouse, Pilton and Drylaw shouldn't miss out on high quality public transport because councillors fail to put the city's best interests first."
But he welcomed the commitment to retain the ambition of a mass transit connection from Granton to the city centre and also aligning the new tramline with a wider regional mass transit network. "Extending beyond the Royal Infirmary could bring real benefits to our neighbouring authorities too."
He also urged segregated cycle lanes to be "designed in" from the start with the new line. The first tramline, where no segregation was built in, had seen hundreds of crashes of cycles on tram tracks, while segregated cycle lanes on Leith Walk had all but eliminated cycle crashes on the Newhaven extension.
The Tories wanted to call a halt to the whole project. Group leader Iain Whyte said: "It's unfunded, it's unwanted by the people of Edinburgh and there are serious objections from credible heritage groups. We should stop this now - stop wasting taxpayer money because it is a fantasy that is very unlikely ever to happen."
Earlier, former council leader Cammy Day, addressing the committee as one of the councillors for Forth ward, which includes Granton, noted that the Lib Dems had proposed the original tram routes, including from Granton to Haymarket via the Roseburn Path, but said they were now trying to derail the project.
Cllr Day said the benefits of the northern section of the tramline were clear. "The tram is an integral component to unlocking the potential we have to bring forward developments and deliver a greater economic value to a part of the city that desperately needs it.
"Our plans for a £1.3 billion investment in Granton are under way with plans for 3,500 new homes, a new artworks project, business, commercial, tourism, a new school coming and soon the biggest coastal park in Europe.
“Our plans to develop the whole Granton masterplan includes plans for new housing and is all predicated on improved public transport and that promise of a tram.”
The council said the next step was to position the plans within the SEStransit study findings, expected in autumn next year, while advisory work with the UK National Wealth Fund on funding and financing options would also continue.