Leith Walk tram line extension blocked by the SNP

A tram pulls into the platform at St Andrew Square  one stop before the end of the line in York Place. Picture: Ian Rutherford

PLANS to extend the Capital’s tram line down Leith Walk have suffered a major blow with SNP councillors set to oppose the move.

A full meeting of the city council next week is due to vote on whether to go ahead with a £144 million proposal to complete the route to Newhaven.

But the SNP group has voiced doubts about the financial case for the extension at a time when the council is under massive budget pressures.

A senior SNP source said the group supported taking the trams down Leith Walk in principle, but did not believe the current case was robust enough, despite a recommendation by officials in favour of the move.

The source said although they had not taken a final decision, the Nationalists were likely to vote against any extension at this stage.

Their stance puts their Labour coalition partners in a difficult position. They must decide whether to try to press ahead with the project regardless of the SNP views, effectively splitting the coalition with 18 months to go until the next council elections, or accept that the much talked-about tram extension should be put on hold for now.

The SNP source said: “We would like to see the tram extended, but this case is not robust enough to justify it.