Edinburgh City Council transport convenor says no public money will be used to fund new tram line

Edinburgh’s transport boss has said no council money will go towards funding the city’s new tram line – even as questions have been raised over what external funding will be available.

The remarks came after council leader Jane Meagher refused to rule out public money being spent on the project in response to a question by Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang.

She had been challenged on a promise made by her predecessor, Councillor Cammy Day, in December 2022 that no council tax money would be spent on the new tram line.

Momentarily glancing back at Cllr Day, she said: “This is an area where I need to be better informed.

“And I go back to my response to Cllr Thornley, which is until we know the scope of the tram extension, it’s impossible to assess what kind of financial commitment will be needed on any part.”

Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Cllr Meagher misspoke, and that no council tax money or debt would be used to fund the tram.

He said: “It is Labour group policy that the council tax payers of Edinburgh will not be asked to directly fund any future extension of our award winning tram network.”

It comes three days after a public consultation on the new route was launched, which Cllr Meagher had said already drew in over 2,000 responses.

Cllr Lang said: “We’re only days into this tram consultation and the position of the Labour administration has already fallen into chaos.

“Two years ago, the Labour position could not have been clearer. They said no council tax money would be spent on the tram extension.

“The new Labour Leader then makes a bombshell U-turn and says she won’t rule out spending council tax on the tram.

“Just hours later, the Labour transport convener says they won’t be using council tax money. Who do we believe?

“The council is already facing a funding crisis, with a growing black hole in how we pay for our schools, social care, roads, and pavements in the years to come.”

“Labour councillors need to come clean on how they would pay for the £2bn tram extension.”

And Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert said: “The confusion on future funding options for a new north south tram line is deeply damaging and not helpful at all when Edinburgh residents are being asked for their views on the project.

“It’s entirely reasonable to expect Edinburgh Council to have answers on where the money is coming from if they are serious about plans to expand the existing network.”

Earlier in the meeting, Conservative councillor and group leader Iain Whyte asked Cllr Meagher: “Given that the cost is now £3bn and rising, can the council leader say, in any terms, where she thinks the £3bn will come from when our loan debt is already £2bn in this council?

“And can she justify £44m being spent to work up a business case?”

Cllr Meagher replied: “Any European city I’ve visited has a tram network, and it’s vital for the infrastructure of any city.

“And if we’re going to meet our ambitious environmental targets, then we have to be very serious about what kind of public transportation we have.”

She began to say, “I will begin to look into funding options if that would help”, before her words were broken up by boos from other councillors.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Scottish Government funding for the new tram route was not ‘affordable in the current fiscal climate’ – but that funding could be possible in the context of a more expansive mass transit plan for Edinburgh and the wider region.

This came from minutes of meetings in January and March, which were released to a campaigner under freedom of information requests.

Cllr Jenkinson said of the points raised: “It’s far too early in the process to be getting into the fine detail of how an important project like this would be financed.

“By the time we do get to a point where we need to actually start financing this project, I’m hopeful that we will have a different Scottish Government in place.

“I look forward to working with the Scottish and UK governments to see what the art of the possible is with regards to funding a major transport initiative for Edinburgh, the Lothians and Scotland.”

At a media briefing on Monday, Cllr Jenkinson said: “We can answer the question as to how much, but where the money comes from is probably going to be the next stage.”

The tram extension is set to link Granton to the BioQuarter, and possibly points further east, with the new line linking up with the current one at either side of Princes Street.

Among other questions, the consultation is asking residents about which route the new line should take between Granton and the city centre.

One option would send it along the Roseburn Path, while the other would bring it up Dean Bridge and along surface streets to Crewe Toll.