Edinburgh to create £2.4m fund after tram line gets green light
0Edinburgh City Council is to create a £2.4m support package after plans to extend its tram-line got the go-ahead.
The long-running saga of the scheme was moved forward after councillors agreed to back a 4.6km extension from the city centre to Newhaven which will cost £200m.
Funding will come from borrowing against future fares income of the projected 16m passengers a year plus a £20m dividend from the council’s bus company Lothian Buses.
Local firms will also get compensation from a £2.4m package of support for disruption after work begins at the end of the month. The service is scheduled to start in 2023.
Cllr Lesley Macinnes, transport and environment convener, said: “Taking trams to Newhaven will allow brownfield development sites to be transformed, opening up the whole of north Edinburgh to a wealth of opportunities in terms of jobs, housing and local facilities.
“And vitally, this will be achieved without putting pressure on existing council budgets.”
