Following the announcement from The City of Edinburgh Council that Princes Street would be closed for a further 10 month period from July to dig up and re-lay the track, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Edinburgh conducted a survey of members for their views on the trams project. The results of this survey back up what we have been saying for some time now: that businesses in Edinburgh need to know where the trams will be running and when they will be completed.
We asked members where they believed the trams would eventually stop and 93% of them said they don’t believe the assurances they have been given by tie that the full route to Newhaven will be built. 41% of members believe that the entire tram project will actually be cancelled.
We asked members when they believed the tram construction work would be completed. A third of them responded to say after 2015, meaning they are expecting long-term disruption. There was an even spread of opinion for completion in 2013-15, showing that businesses in Edinburgh are totally in the dark as to when the works will end.
We asked members what effect the finished tram system would have on the Edinburgh economy, and as many as 83% of them feel it will have little or no impact, this is in stark contrast to tie‘s assertion that the trams will make a “real and positive difference to the lives of those that live in, work in and visit Edinburgh”.
Commenting on the results of this survey, Michael Dixon, Chairman of the Edinburgh Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said:
“Our members were shocked that the tram announcement on Wednesday gave no commitment on where the trams will run and when the work will be completed. Edinburgh’s businesses, like any other successful business, need to be able to plan ahead in order to be successful and help grow the local economy out of the economic downturn. Our survey has shown that our members are in the dark on this vital information so are being hindered in their efforts to plan for the future.”
“We are calling for tie to commit to an achievable route and a timetable for the trams as soon as possible and to look at how they will be compensating businesses affected by the over-running tram works.”
There is another meeting on Monday when the tram update will be discussed by the council, and further information should be available. We will report to you on that.
As an ordinary citizen I’m also worried that this uncertainty and secrecy has big negative impacts on the quality of the city centre. We all want a vibrant city life, but how can any of that develop if we don’t even know what the centre will look like in the next few years? Personally it seems to me that the centre has become much less attractive in the last few years.
That big projects often don’t go as originally planned, that is something that unfortunately happens – but then tie and the council need to be very open and transparent about it so that we all know what’s happening. If the session on Monday again doesn’t deliver that, perhaps a freedom of information request would be useful to get some of the internal planning documents.
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