Edinburgh council to 'prioritise' southern tram extension

Edinburgh council will prioritise extending the city's tram network to the south, after a row over a proposed northern route.

Councillors voted against pursuing the link between Princes Street and Granton via the Roseburn Path following a campaign by local residents.

An alternative route, which would see trams taken to the north of the city along the Dean Bridge and Orchard Brae, was also rejected.

But plans to work towards developing the southern spur of the line, connecting the city centre and the Royal Infirmary via the BioQuarter development, were approved at a meeting of the transport and environment committee.

Any work on an outline business case for the route is likely to be delayed until next autumn's SEStran regional report to see if it unlocks potential funding streams.

The southern spur is estimated to cost about £1.7bn, according to a report presented to the committee.

It would involve the tram travelling along Princes Street and connecting with North Bridge, which recently reopened following an eight-year restoration project.

It would then head along South Bridge, towards Newington and on to its terminus at the Royal Infirmary and via Cameron Toll.

North Bridge would have to close again while work was carried out.

Heritage campaigners raised concerns over a lack of technical planning assessing whether South Bridge was able to handle the tram link.

Council officials said work on the project could begin by the end of the decade.

It is also set to coincide with a feasibility study on whether passenger services will be able to return to Edinburgh's south suburban railway, which has carried freight trains since stations closed on the line 64 years ago.

A previous report warned there were "public acceptability issues" with both proposed northern route extensions.

Granton, in the north of the city, is at the centre of a large programme of development under the £1.3bn Granton Waterfront Regeneration Project.

That is set to include thousands of new homes, parks and cultural and leisure space, with a predicted increase in population.

The area is currently served by Lothian Bus services, but concerns over future capacity have been raised.

A link to the existing tram network has been under consideration for several years.

The Roseburn Path option was outlined as the council's "preferred route" when plans were put out for consultation in August last year.

Those proposals, estimated to cost about £2.5bn, would have involved the tram running on a two-mile section of the now-defunct north suburban railway line before reconnecting with the roadway in the west of the city.

A pedestrian and cycling way would have run alongside it, with some vegetation and trees cleared, but most retained.

But a number of residents, pedestrians and cyclists who regularly use the path claimed the reconfigured walkway would be "too narrow" and risked damaging the local environment.

An alternative line, which would have seen the tram sent along the A-listed Dean Bridge, was also proposed.

That would have required further work to ensure the 193-year-old structure could support the weight of the tram cars and was estimated to cost £2.9bn.

A Liberal Democrat motion to rule out the Roseburn Path route completely in future was rejected.

An SNP motion to continue exploring alternative routes between the city centre and Granton was backed by the Greens and by the administration.

The council's transport convener, Labour's Stephen Jenkinson, said he wanted to be "bold" in his vision of a connected tram network, including the Roseburn route.

However, voting in favour of prioritising the southern link, he said: "One of the difficult decisions you have to take is when you need to compromise.

"You have to be mindful of the political makeup of this council and what the art of the possible is."