The decision to close Princes Street fully for eight months to allow tram construction works was approved to by councillors on Edinburgh City Council this week – and they also decided to set up a team in charge of communicating what is happening with the tram project. This team will consist of Council leader Cllr Jenny Dawe, Tom Aitchison (Council Chief Executive) and, most controversially, Cllr Steve Cardownie (SNP – and staunch critic of the scheme).
This team of three will be in charge of deciding how the public are told about any future tram construction works, and are just part of a larger package of measures to ensure the disruption caused previously does not happen again.
The decision to include Cllr Cardownie on the panel caused controversy amongst opposition councillors and a move was made to attempt to remove him – but this failed.
Cllr Ian Perry, City Transport spokesman for Labour, said: “Steve overseeing communications just doesn't make sense to me. I am not questioning Steve's integrity, it's just that the SNP has taken every opportunity to knock this project and you would think they were the last people they would want to take advice on the trams from."
Cllr Cardownie said: “Believe me, my party or I get no pleasure from seeing the city centre snarled up like it was that day in October, or traders on Leith Walk suffering because of the congestion caused by tram works. We are firmly behind the message that Edinburgh is open for business and any suggestion that there might be some sort of subterfuge on our part to undermine the trams is just nonsense."
Source: The Scotsman