Trams work ‘to start within weeks’

Senior council officials said they hoped to conclude talks with the German-led consortium building the city’s tram network within a fortnight to get a long- delayed programme of work back on track. By then the Scottish Government is expected to have approved the release of the remaining £72 million from its £500m grant, which was originally meant to fund a line from the airport to the city’s waterfront.

But the council is facing another headache after the business groups Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and Essential Edinburgh asked for a delay of up to five months to protect traders in and around Princes Street – even though this could add further costs to the project bill.

Work to repair and re-lay tramlines on Princes Street – which was closed to all traffic from February to November 2009 – was supposed to get under way in July and be finished by next April. Businesses won a reprieve until early this mont on Princes Street – which was closed to all traffic from February to November 2009 – was supposed to get underway in July and be finished by next April.

Businesses won a reprieve until this month because of the uncertainty over the fate of the scheme – and are now demanding a further delay until February to avoid damaging Christmas shopping trade. An stoppage to works between the end of November and the Hogmanay celebrations has already been promised.

Council chief executive Sue Bruce and senior councillors said it was important to get work under way “as soon as possible” following the turmoil of the past week. A further delay until February could add £2-3 million to the £776m bill to get the system up and running.

Business leaders say it is not clear how quickly contractors can get back to work after yesterday’s vote and they fear fresh disruption in the run-up to the lucrative festive period.

Officials have already warned that last week’s vote effectively cost the council at least £300,000 after workers had to be stood down while a another special council meeting was called.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: “Businesses will need to be be absolutely clear about the planned programme of any works and the impact they have.

“The strong view of the business community at the moment is they would not want any work starting now before the festive season.”

City council transport leader Gordon Mackenzie said: “The delay in the council making a decision to go ahead with St Andrew Square has already cost more than £300,000 and we don’t yet know when that work will be able to restart. Delaying that by another few months could well add another £2 or £3 million to the overall bill.”

Speaking after the meeting, Ms Bruce said: “We’ll be making immediate contact with the contractors to take things forward, to let them know that we have a pledge of funding of £776m in place now and a definite decision to go to St Andrew Square.

“We’ll now be asking for an extension of a couple of weeks for negotiations on the final contract.

“We’re not anticipating any problems with the Scottish Government releasing the final £72m as we’ve been working with them and Transport Scotland on negotiating a new contract for a line to St Andrew Square for the last few months.”

“I think it would be helpful to start work as soon as we have an agreement and the contractors are ready to go back in.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government last night said: “We recognise the complexities and difficult cicumstances that the council has faced as it seeks to make the right decisions for the people of Edinburgh. It is appropriate that ministers now give full consideration to all of the factors in the council’s revised proposals before making any further decisions.”

Deputy council leader Steve Cardownie has admitted he has “no confidence” that the cost of getting Edinburgh’s trams off the ground will not rise again.

However the leader of the SNP group – which dropped its opposition to the project yesterday rather than opt for a costly cancellation – has praised the council officials who have been in charge of the project since the turn of the year, for improving the council’s relationship with Bilfinger Berger, saying it had previously been “in tatters”.

He added: “There are obviously risks still out there but I would hope, given the history of the project, there will have been a lot more caution in producing these new figures than there has been in the past.

“I have no confidence that the price will not rise again, but I do have confidence in Sue Bruce and her team. My understanding is that there is a good relationship with the contractors now.

Labour is demanding an immediate public inquiry into Edinburgh’s tram project after a last-minute U-turn saw the party back plans to build a tram line into the city centre, rather than terminating the line at Haymarket. The government had refused to release the £72m still due to the council under the Haymarket option.

Labour group leader Andrew Burns said: “We should be under no illusions what we are agreeing to here. We are proceeding on an unconditional basis and committing the council to repaying £15.3m a year for the next 30 years. There are no winners here. It is another bleak day in a saga that lurches between chaos and farce. All parties are now agreed on the need for a public inquiry. I don’t see any reason why that cannot start any day now.”

Council leader Jenny Dawe said: “I’ve no doubt there will be an inquiry, when very serious questions will be asked about the governance of the project up to now, but I don’t think there is any point in having an inquiry at this stage. The important thing is we get on and build the tram system and get it up and running.”

Meanwhile union leaders who attacked the decision to press ahead with the project have branded the vote a “catastrophe” for the city’s main bus company.

Members of the Lothian Buses workforce stormed out of the debate on the issue at the City Chambers is it became clear only the Tories would vote to cancel the tram project, with one driver shouting: “You’ve lost touch with reality.”

However, the bus drivers’ union was challenged over claims that the company would have to fork out up to £9m a year from its profits to pay for the tram scheme.

Mr Cardownie said: “A tram line to Haymarket would have been an albatross around the neck of the company. Of all the options we had left, we simply had no option but to go to St Andrew Square. Lothian Buses is majority owned by the council but its profits are not there to be plundered by us.”