SPECIAL REPORT EDINBURGH TRAMS 77
company set up by the council to deliver the
project which included councillors on its board
from time to time, at the council and The
Scottish Government, but no councillors were
singled out by name, despite Edinburgh voters
having their say on the Liberal Democrat/SNP
coalition in 2012 when they reduced the number
of LibDem councillors from 16 to just three. The
leader of the group and former leader of the
council, Jenny Dawe lost her seat.
Council officers were singled out for criticism,
some named and some not, although many of
those officers have moved on by now. One
damning part of the report is that some of the
information provided to the council by tie and by
council officers was “misleading”.
Lord Hardie said that Scottish Ministers must
get better at keeping records of meetings or
telephone conversations when procurement or
projects using public money are discussed.
It is quite farcical given the criticism levelled at
Lord Hardie for the time it has taken to produce
the report that his first recommendation is in fact
to the government asking that it reviews public
inquiries “to determine the most cost-effective
method of avoiding delay in the establishment
of an inquiry”. No mention is made of the
length of time it has taken for him and his
team to read the millions of pages of
reports and evidence, and to have missed
the opportunity of even publishing an
interim report before the Trams to
Newhaven extension was begun now seems
ludicrous. This report now smacks of
being a bit too little, too late.Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I’m pleased
that Lord Hardie’s Inquiry is now complete and
will now read and digest his findings and
conclusions in detail.
“As a Council, we’ve co-operated fully
with the Inquiry since its announcement
nine years ago and have always maintained
that its outcomes will be beneficial in
informing investment in similar major
transport infrastructure projects, both here
in Edinburgh and by other local authorities.
“We’ll consider our response, and any actions
required, based on the findings and report back
to councillors in due course.
“From a first reading of the report it’s clear that
serious mistakes were made and that this had a
significant impact on the city. There’s no getting
away from the fact that the original project
caused a great deal of disruption to residents and
businesses, as well as damaging the city’s
reputation and on behalf of the Council, I want
to apologise for this.
“I won’t, however, apologise for building a
tram system, or for our ambition to develop it
further. After all, creating a better connected,
environmentally friendly transport system is
essential for a modern, successful city and
we need to transform the way people
move around if we are to achieve our
net zero goals.”
Meantime Edinburgh Trams report
a record number of passengers who
travelled with them in August.
Around 1.2 million
passengers can’t be bad?Alan SimpsonCouncil Leader
Cammy DayEdinburgh Tram Inquiry Report...
The facts and figures include strong
criticism of public bodies involved
Counting the costs
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
IN THE LAST NINE years, £13.1 million was
spent on the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report
(more than the Iraq Inquiry), there have been
three First Ministers, several council
administrations of varying political make-ups
and 957 pages have been filled in the report on a
tram project finished in 2014, and which has
already been extended by an in-house team at
The City of Edinburgh Council.
Although the final cost of the tram from
Edinburgh Airport to York Place has long been
stated as £776 million, the report concludes that
the actual price can now be estimated at £835.
million, although it is admitted that the final cost
of Line 1a (airport to Newhaven) would have to
be recalculated once the original Line 1a is
completed. (It opened in June 2023). The
Newhaven extension has been completed within
the budget stated by the council and so would
have been known to the author of the report at
the time it was written.
Whatever the outcome of any recalculations,
the report states that the cost has doubled from
the original estimate to around £1,043 million
(or £1 billion) including the cost of borrowing
£246.5 million to open the line in 2014.
Apart from the loss of tram revenue during the
three years’ delay, which is estimated at £4 million
per year, the report mentions that any benefit to
Leith and Newhaven anticipated in the Final
Business Case (the document on which the tram
project proceeded) was also much delayed - and
then there was the disruption to business and
residents over the years. Most of that is common
knowledge - ask any taxi driver in the capital.
Criticism was levelled at tie, the arms length