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First public hearings at Edinburgh trams inquiry

Former council bosses will be among the first to give evidence.

Published 5th Sep 2017
Last updated 6th Sep 2017

Former leaders of Edinburgh Council will be among the first to give evidence during the latest stage of the inquiry into the city's trams fiasco.

Public hearings are beginning today (Tues).

The cost of the project more than doubled to ÂŁ776 million and it took years longer than first expected to complete.

Inquiry chair Lord Hardie, who retired as a judge in 2012, has previously said the oral hearings will play a crucial role in informing his final recommendations.

He said: "The inquiry team has already undertaken a substantial amount of activity including identifying, retrieving and reviewing more than six million documents and securing written statements from a significant number of witnesses.

"The hearings mark another important phase of this work."

Lord Hardie has vowed to provide "robust" recommendations to ensure future infrastructure projects avoid the problems experienced by the scheme.

Edinburgh Council is currently considering plans to extend the tram line along Leith Walk and on to Newhaven at a projected cost of ÂŁ165.2 million and with a completion date sometime in 2022.

The trams began operating at the end of May 2014 after six years of disruption and a long-running dispute between Edinburgh City Council and contractors.

The probe was set up over three years ago by the then first minister Alex Salmond.

Among those due to give evidence are former city council leaders Jenny Dawe (2007-2012), Ewan Aitken (2006-2007) and Donald Anderson (1999-2006).

The inquiry will also hear from former transport convener Lesley Hinds as well as the leader of the Scottish Conservatives on the council, Iain Whyte, and former Tory group leader Jeremy Balfour, now an MSP.

The sessions for gathering oral evidence will take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week, with the whole process expected to span several months.

The hearings will take place at the inquiry's offices in Waterloo Place