Call to ditch government's 'ridiculous' £500m tram cap

Published on Friday 16 July 2010 15:07

THE Scottish Government should pick up the bill for any increase in the cost of the trams rather than Edinburgh council tax payers, a would-be MSP said today.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, chosen last week as Liberal Democrat candidate for next year's Scottish Parliament elections in the target seat of Edinburgh Central, said he wanted to get rid of the "ridiculous" 500m cap on the government's contribution to the project.

He said: "The trams represent a national asset, but we have this arbitrary cap of 500m on what the government will put into it. It's wrong when the city is facing hard times financially that we should have to foot the bill if the costs overrun."

An attempt by the SNP to halt the trams soon after it came to power at Holyrood in 2007 was defeated when the other parties combined to save the project. However, Finance Secretary John Swinney warned there would be "not a penny more" of central funding beyond the 500m already committed.

The council was left to find the remaining 45m of the original cost and take responsibility for any subsequent increase. The cost is now estimated at 600m and council chiefs have warned they may need to borrow 55m to complete the project.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said it was vital to make sure the cost of the trams was kept under control.

But he said: "If an overspend occurs, it should not just be an Edinburgh problem. Trams are good for the whole country."