After a troubled start, trams are now part of the lifeblood of Leith

There can be few more striking demonstrations of the value of Edinburgh’s trams than what has happened since they stopped running through the city centre to Leith.

For years, the tram project was synonymous with controversy. Traders formed action groups, businesses complained about disruption and some argued that Edinburgh simply did not need trams.

The project’s delays, incompetence and cost overruns gave the critics plenty of ammunition.

Now one Edinburgh businessman has offered a very different perspective. Restaurateur Leandro Crolla very honestly admitted recently that he had been among those who thought the trams “weren’t worth it”. His conclusion today is refreshingly straightforward: “turns out I was wrong.”

With services to Leith suspended following the devastating Princes Street fire, he says footfall has fallen and small independent businesses are being hit particularly hard.

That matters because it directly contrasts with the arguments heard when the tram was being built and later extended to Newhaven. The complaint then was that trams would damage businesses.

Traders understandably focused on roadworks, access restrictions and the disruption caused during construction. Indeed, concerns were so serious that more than £2.4 million to be committed to measures supporting businesses during the Newhaven extension.

But the experience of the past few weeks simply proves the tram has become part of the commercial lifeblood of Leith.

The Princes Street fire has forced trams to terminate at the West End. Businesses have reported reduced footfall while buses have struggled with congestion and increased demand. There is an important lesson here as Edinburgh debates the next expansion of its tram network.

Major infrastructure inevitably creates disruption while it is being constructed. That disruption should never be dismissed, particularly for small businesses operating on tight margins. But while construction lasts for years, tram infrastructure lasts for generations.

The irony is that some traders who once feared what the tram might do to their businesses are now discovering what happens when the tram disappears.

Perhaps the strongest argument for investment in more Edinburgh trams is no longer what supporters promise they will deliver. It is what businesses notice when they are gone.