West End protesters want talks over tram pollution

City centre residents have challenged transport chiefs to a public showdown over claims that the tram scheme will increase pollution in residential streets.

• Neighbours fear diverting traffic from Shandwick place will increase pollution on nearby streets

The group of West End residents is objecting to city council plans to permanently ban cars from Shandwick Place to make way for trams. They say that diverting traffic through nearby streets will cause dangerous levels of pollution.

The residents have called on city transport leader, Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, to present the council's case for moving traffic in front of a "jury" of Edinburgh residents and experts.

The latest headache for tram bosses comes after the Evening News revealed on Saturday that the contractual dispute blighting the project is likely to head for the courts.

Sources close to the project say that the estimates from tram company TIE and its contractor Bilfinger Berger for the cost of completing the tramline as far as York Place are now more than 100 million apart, with a court case the only way to resolve the dispute.

The proposal to move cars permanently from Shandwick Place is one of a raft of traffic changes intended to ease congestion along the tram route. Alterations would also be made at Haymarket, St Andrew Square and Leith Walk.

The council has received almost 150 objections from neighbours concerned about the health impact of permanently moving traffic from Shandwick Place.

Great Stuart Street resident, retired civil engineer Alistair Laing said: "The issues are very complex and there are solutions which we've offered.

"We're not just sitting around being 'not in my back yard' people.

"We've said they should temporarily open Shandwick Place and then permanently open Hope Street in both directions.

"We've got one lane of traffic in each direction going through our formerly very nice, peaceful residential area. We think one lane of traffic could just as easily go round Hope Street, where there are no residences."

Councillor Mackenzie said he was happy to meet residents and discuss their concerns.

However, he said that if he was to take part in the statutory Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process surrounding the removal of cars from Shandwick Place, he may be legally restricted from meeting one group of protestors outside official meetings ahead of the decision, to avoid giving them more influence on decision-makers than other groups.

He added: "Obviously we have to talk about the concerns raised by residents, that's what the TRO process is all about.

"Within the report the officers' analysis shows that there isn't likely to be a problem with the air quality, and that's backed up by Edinburgh University experts."