Readers' Best Comments

Fancy a flutter? Now the racing's over at Cheltenham why not have a punt on the Capital's trams? Some bookies have come up with a range of odds.

Costs to exceed 1 billion at 2/1 is a surefire winner. The only problem is the time period you'll have to wait to collect your winnings which will be anything between 2 and 5 years, which makes the "not to be finished until 2015" another surefire winner.

Hong Kong Fooey

Brilliant – finally a way for the people to make some money out of this fiasco rather than the disgusting political class who forced this sham through without so much as asking the people of Edinburgh . . .

Voldemort, Edinburgh

If the council was smart, it would place a bet to hedge against potential spiralling costs – i.e. use the money it would win from the bookies to offset the additional costs. But as we all know, the council isn't smart.

Noxious

Health matters now, and city leader Jenny Dawe is worried about the impact of the new biomass plant set for the Leith Docks.

It would be nice to have local leaders express themselves rationally rather than prejudice an Environmental Impact Assessment. Publish the EIA and then let the hysteria begin. As for the prioritisation of a 100m Ferris wheel – are these people operating in a parallel universe?

Klaus Dubois, Ed

It will take many years to clean up the mess we are going to be landed with thanks to climate alarmism. The greenies have already done a great deal of harm to people, and to the environment, and they still have the momentum and political/media support to do even more.

El Franko

'Councillor Lowrie said the plant was likely to weaken the case for Edinburgh to attract a 100-metre high Ferris wheel as a new tourist attraction in Leith, and admitted there were fears that views from around the historic port would be ruined by the "blot on the landscape".' Well, there we have it, a job creation scheme worth 100s of millions or a Ferris wheel. Vote Liberals. Vote Ferris Wheels.

Rugal

Not only will this plant be polluting, it will involve up to 10,000 additional lorry trips per annum through Leith. Even if you don't live in the local vicinity, you will still be affected. Building the plant at the docks will completely wipe out the residential development plans for the area.

Persevere, 400 metres from the proposed biomass plant

Councils across Scotland, meanwhile – but possibly not the Capital, are to raise parking fines to 100. Happy?

Will this be another, "government consultation", where the decision has already been made but, "we'll invite your opinion", which is dutifully ignored and the scheme put into operation anyway? Governments do not know the true meaning of the word consultation, if they did they might occasionally listen to those with whom they are "consulting".

Americanbob

If this comes in, there will be an awful lot of people not paying their fines or appealing every one of them and the system would grind to a halt. People may also be more careful where they park and the revenue would go down.

NorT, Edinburgh

Another stealth tax.

Paraclete, Edinburgh