Edinburgh North-South tramline: Scottish Government's new comments on funding controversial project
The Scottish Government has said it has "no plans to fund a stand alone extension of Edinburgh's tram network".
A Freedom of Information (FoI) response - published the day after the public consultation on the proposed new North-South tramline closed - described the tram as a "local priority" identified by Edinburgh council.
But it added that the tram network would be considered "within the wider Edinburgh and South East Scotland Mass Transit work".
Lib Dem councillor Kevin Lang said the response made it clear the Scottish Government was not going to pay for the new tramline.
But transport convener Stephen Jenkinson described the FoI reply as "a bit of a fudge" which left open the door to funding of the line as part of a regional project.
The proposed line from Granton to the Royal Infirmary and beyond has been costed at up to £2.9 billion, depending on the route chosen.
The FoI request asked: “Does the Scottish Government intend to fund a new tramline in Edinburgh?”
And the reply was: "The Scottish Government has no plans to fund a stand alone extension of Edinburgh’s tram network or directly fund the business case work required to demonstrate the case. Tram is a local priority which was identified by City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), who have solely progressed the business case for and extension to the current tram network.
"I can confirm that the existing (and potential future) tram network will be considered within the wider Edinburgh and South East Scotland Mass Transit work, which has received Scottish Government funding through the Bus Infrastructure Fund. Transport Scotland officials continue to work collaboratively with local and regional partners (including CEC) in this space."
The reply is un lie with previous comments by ministers and officials. An internal Transport Scotland briefing released in the summer said "support from the Scottish Government is not affordable in the current fiscal climate, nor in line with the recent recommendations of the tram inquiry".
And last year Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop warned of the financial pressures the Scottish Government faced and advised Edinburgh council to "explore alternative funding avenues for tram within an overall mass transit scheme".
Earlier this month, the Evening News revealed council officials were in discussion with the UK Government's National Wealth Fund over funding for the North-South tramline, though the council emphasised the fund's role was purely advisory at this stage.
Cllr Lang said: "No matter how many times you ask them, their answer is coming back the same. The Scottish Government is not going to fund the tram extension.
“Despite years of debate on a possible north-south tram line, one simple question has gone unanswered. How is it being paid for? People in Edinburgh deserve to know, where is the money coming from?"
But Cllr Jenkinson said the Scottish Government reply was "not an entirely negative answer".
He said: "It's not a knock-out blow. It's a bit of a fudge. We've not actually asked the Scottish Government for any money because we're not at the stage of the project to do that.
"What we're focusing in at the moment is what we're going to seek to deliver it, not how we're going to deliver it - people are putting the cart before the horse."
He said the transport committee would be asked next year to move forward to the next stage of the project, which was an outline business case.
"You can't ask for money to deliver anything until your business case is at a stage detailed enough for people to be able to commit to financing it, whoever that is.
“The process we're going through at the moment has nothing to do with money. What we need to do is decide what it is we're actually going to deliver and how much we think that's going to cost. Then the next stage is the outline business case and as part of that process you have to secure the finance to be able to start delivering on the project."
And he said the North-South tramline was key to linking up with the areas surrounding the Capital.
“It opens up the possibility and enables regional connectivity to Edinburgh in a way that currently is just not there at all.
“I have never seen the tram project as just an Edinburgh project. If you look at it just in the context of the benefits to Edinburgh in isolation I think that's quite short-sighted.
“We have to remember in this whole thing that a lot of the people coming into Edinburgh to work or shop or whatever are coming from outside of Edinburgh. So we've got to move people around Edinburgh more efficiently, but we've also got to provide solutions for people coming into Edinburgh. Edinburgh is the kind of economic behemoth but we need to develop solutions regionally to make sure the system works.”