Monday November 10th 2025
The new town of Shawfair is being considered as an additional destination for Edinburgh's tram network.
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A bid to extend Edinburgh’s trams to Shawfair, in Midlothian, has come under fire for describing the new town as ‘deprived’.
The additional tram link which is estimated to cost at least £101million if approved, is part of a wider project being led by City of Edinburgh Council to create cross border links into Midlothian and East Lothian from the capital’s trams network.
However in a proposed response to a consultation on the plans, Midlothian planners said the “Tram to Granton, BioQuarter and Beyond: The Strategic Rationale” compared Shawfair to Craigmillar and Granton in the city as an area of deprivation.
In a report due to go before Midlothian councillors for approval next week, officers said: “It is inappropriate to say that Shawfair is an area of deprivation or that areas experiencing deprivation within Midlothian will benefit from a
tram due to connectivity to it.”
As well as raising concerns about the classing of Shawfair, a 21st century new development south of the city, as deprived, officers also question why a tram link would benefit people with there is already a Borders Railway link which gets people into the city in 18 minutes.
And they point out the footfall required to make a tram link commercially viable was not found in Midlothian communities.
They also question the impact it could have on bus services in rural communities and the cost of the project for the cash-strapped local authority pointing out “the only indication of cost is “high level construction estimates”, with the section from Tobias Street to Shawfair being estimated as £101m.
“This estimate only covers construction costs and a substantial increase on this figure is anticipated when you consider wider infrastructure impacts.”
The council response says that while it is not opposed to a mass transit opportunity, whether using trams or a mix of transport, the current proposals for Shawfair pose questions and concerns.
It also suggest there are other alternative routes including Shawfair which could be considered such as one linking the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Hospital to the north of Shawfair continuing to Fort Kinnaird, East Lothian and Queen Margaret University.
Officers push for more attention to producing east west links between the counties which would be “less likely to compete with current bus and train infrastructure and would add significant value to the existing alignments”.
The response concludes that the council “welcomes collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and East Lothian Council, on any mass transit opportunities to achieve the best outcome for all”.
The report that will discussed at next weeks Midlothian Planning Meeting can be read HERE.
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