As Rachel Reeves’ doomsday budget approaches, I wonder if those in charge at the City Chambers are living in a parallel universe where money is no object and anything is possible.
But no, that can’t possibly be the case because if money really wasn’t a problem we would have clean streets, and our care services wouldn’t be in perpetual crisis. But when it comes to transport, the alternative reality kicks in and the magic money tree is shaken for all it’s worth.
Undaunted by a bill which even now is estimated to be anywhere between £2 billion and £2.9bn – what’s the odd billion between friends – the council is embarking on a 12-week public consultation on extending the tram line to Granton and south to the BioQuarter, with the results used to build a “Strategic Business Case” which will go to the Transport Committee next year.
As it’s a consultation, not a balanced survey, expect a pile-on of tram supporters and anti-car Greens to ensure the result favours proceeding, but from what I can see there is no business case to be made because the authority is already saddled with an eye-watering bill just from completing the line from York Place to Newhaven, never mind the whole thing to the airport.
Administration councillors congratulated themselves because the eventual bill for the three miles came under the inflated £207 million budget, but thanks to a Freedom of Information request we now know £200m had to be borrowed and the interest alone is £91.6m.
It beats me how the council can even contemplate spending another £3bn when it’s funding that interest bill out of a revenue account with a shortfall of over £30m this year. That’s where the money for running schools, social work and the bins service comes from.
It’s even more extraordinary when the council already knows it won’t get a penny from Transport Scotland to fund preparation of the business case and other pre-construction work, which will cost well over £40m. And apart from anything else, far from being a brilliant addition to our transport options, the airport tram line, which cost £1bn to build, is slower than the buses despite all the claims about congestion.
But no. Like model train enthusiasts, having built one line the council wants more for the sake of it. It is just one horrendously expensive marketing stunt, but one which will disrupt lives along the route for years and years of construction.
It’s also clear there is a determination to rip up the Roseburn path to extend the line to Granton, and while that makes sense from an engineering and cost perspective, it still makes no difference to the basic point that it will only do what the buses can do, but at vast expense and destroying a much-loved walkway.
This is a one-way ride to bankruptcy, and everyone concerned about our city should take this opportunity to participate in the consultation and tell the council what real Edinburgh people think, not just leave it to the pressure groups. This is not about contributing to an already bust business case, it’s a chance to derail the project, and the thousands of Edinburgh people who will not benefit from the trams need to let the council know in no uncertain terms.
