2 weeks Ago By Donald Anderson and Steven Purcell
In recent years Edinburgh and Glasgow have delivered major City Deals in partnership with the Scottish and UK governments. Glasgow City Council has also made great progress by pushing and developing the “metropolitan” status of the city region. Edinburgh has shown real ambition by introducing the country’s first Visitor Levy.
We strongly believe that Scotland’s two great cities are the engines of Scotland’s economy, evidenced in a recent study by Ernst and Young that showed both cities leading the way on economic growth in Scotland . Because of that, economic growth in the central belt will outstrip that of the rest of Scotland. These facts simply underline our description of the areas in and around our two cities as “Scotland’s Growth Corridor”.
Growth and jobs will now be harder to secure. For that reason we believe that the time is right for investing in a new Metro underground rail system for Glasgow and to move forward with a second tram route in Edinburgh. We both believe that the top priority for Scotland at present is to quickly move forward with the Metro link to Glasgow Airport .
Edinburgh’s Airport is thriving on the back of strong tourism growth and its tram link. Further, there has been over £5 billion of development from investment made on the back of trams. From Edinburgh’s St James Quarter, Edinburgh Park, Princes Street and out to the new communities proposed at West Town and Elements Edinburgh, the investment has flowed.
The regeneration of Leith was completed before the tramline even opened there. The plans for a Clyde Metro are being actively progressed and a “Case for Investment” is being produced. This work is of huge national significance.
Providing a new Metro from Glasgow to the airport and Paisley will see a similar boost for investment as has been secured by the Edinburgh trams. Glasgow Airport has been held back by the lack of a light or heavy rail connection that other European cities have. The banks of the Clyde have twice the amount of brownfield land that there is on the Forth, which is an opportunity and a challenge that can’t be ignored.
Edinburgh City Council is progressing the second tram route as well. At present our governments in Holyrood and Westminster are helping fund a business case for the extension of the Borders Railway. We fully support that and believe it’s an important project for regeneration of the Scottish Borders.
However, a Metro for Glasgow and second tram line in Edinburgh are important for Scotland. We believe a clear commitment to delivering a Metro in Glasgow is the top priority but funding the next step in the delivery of Edinburgh trams is also critical and funding that business case shouldn’t just be left to the council. Glasgow and Edinburgh are already successful cities, but in an age of uncertainty and low growth we need to ensure that we fire up the engines of our economic success.
Donald Anderson is a director of Playfair Scotland. This article was co-written by Steven Purcell, former leader of Glasgow City Council.
