The City of Edinburgh Council has approved proposed arrangements for works related to the Trams to Newhaven project on Constitution Street and Leith Walk from mid-November.

Letters have been delivered to residents and businesses in the affected areas to advise them of traffic management, communal bin collection arrangements, diversions for bus services, as well as the suspension of parking on Constitution Street during the first phase of Trams to Newhaven works.

An information event about the works will be held at South Leith Parish Church on Thursday 07 November from 12 noon - 7.30pm, allowing residents and businesses to meet the Trams to Newhaven project team and raise any queries. 

A logistics hub is to be set up in Mitchell Street to support Constitution Street businesses with deliveries and dispatches. Residents expecting large deliveries can also obtain help from the logistics hub. 

A Support for Business package will be in operation once construction gets underway, devised in consultation with businesses in the area. This will include a local voucher scheme, an 'Open for Business' campaign across a range of media, a business continuity fund and free business improvement courses.

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Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: "This is a significant moment as we make the final preparations for work to begin on taking trams to Newhaven and we want to make sure the residents and businesses who'll be most impacted by this first phase have all the information they need. The Trams to Newhaven team and our contractors are united in approaching this major and transformational project with openness and diligence so that disruption is minimised as far as possible and communities are fully up to speed with each stage of the works."

Work will begin in two sections of Constitution Street from Monday 18 November 2019. These are:

1. Foot of the Walk to Coatfield Lane – scheduled to be completed by Spring 2021

2. Queen Charlotte Street to Constitution Place – scheduled to be finished by Summer 2020.

Work by Sacyr Farrans Neopul Joint Venture (the Infrastructure and Systems Contractor) and Morrison Utility Services (the Swept Path Contractor) will involve excavation of the road to allow utility diversions, track-laying, installation of tram infrastructure, public realm improvements and heritage and archaeology works. This includes the Robert Burns statue, situated on Baltic Street, being removed, undergoing restoration works, before being returned once construction is complete. In addition, the South Leith Parish Church wall will be taken down and re-built.

Further work will take place between: 

1. Coatfield Lane and Queen Charlotte Street - starting Spring 2021, scheduled to complete Spring 2022

2. Constitution Place and Tower Place - starting Autumn 2021, scheduled to complete Autumn 2022.

The full construction programme can be accessed on the Trams to Newhaven website.

(MH/CM)