Scrap the tram to pay for Granton - John McLellan

A view of the planned new town at the Granton waterfront

There’s no question the homes are needed, but already there are questions about the project’s finance, especially with the council now demanding that private house builders, in this case Cruden Homes, ensure 35 per cent of the properties are affordable.

A cost of £1.3 billion is regularly cited, but that will almost certainly prove to be conservative and at today’s full council meeting, approval is being sought to increase the council’s development planning budget for this project alone by £445,000 to over £1 million.

The explanation is it “has seen some widening of its scope,” which sounds like a euphemism for over-stretching its ambitions, and there are concerns that already the public sector budget is £75 million short.

Last week, council leader Cammy Day, who represents the area, lauded this “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a 20-minute neighbourhood from scratch which includes affordable net zero homes, shops, cultural, leisure and education facilities all close by.”

Sounds super, but if residents’ every desires are a mere stroll away, why is the council still hell-bent on spending millions on a tram line from the city centre? The bill will dwarf the £207m it cost to complete the three miles to Newhaven, given the hardware and rolling stock were already bought.

So, scrap the tram and maybe the numbers might have a chance of stacking up.