Constitution Street works to start 18 November 2019

Notification of start of construction work

The first phase of work to take trams to Newhaven will start on Constitution Street on 18 November 2019, following six months of joint work by the City of Edinburgh Council, Sacyr, Farrans, Neopul (SFN), and Morrison Utility Services (MUS), to finalise the construction programme and costs for the project.

Construction schedule

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

1. Foot of the Walk to Coatfield Lane
2. Queen Charlotte Street to Constitution Place

SFN and MUS’ roles will involve excavation of the road to allow utility diversions, tracklaying, installation of tram infrastructure, public realm improvements, and heritage and archaeology works. This includes the Robert Burns statue, situated on Baltic Street, being removed and 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. The memorials on the inner face of the wall will also be removed and protected so that they can be reinstated when the wall is re-built

Further work will take place between:

1. Coatfield Lane and Queen Charlotte Street
2. Constitution Place and Tower Place

Traffic Management

Traffic management arrangements have been approved jointly with members of the city's Traffic Management Review Panel, including Lothian Buses and the emergency services, and these will be in place from the evening of 15 November 2019. Diversion routes and advanced warning signage will be erected in the vicinity for information and direction and detailed drawings for these can be found on the website.

Throughout the construction period, access will be maintained to Kirkgate House from Laurie Street and to Coatfield Lane from Queen Charlotte Street. The Bernard Street to Baltic Street, Mitchell Street to Maritime Lane and Queen Charlotte Street road crossings will also remain open. All other sections of Constitution Street will be closed to vehicles. The plans can be found on the project website.

The project will carefully monitor how the traffic management is working during the construction period.

Parking

In order to enable pedestrian access given the narrow layout of Constitution Street and because the road is
closed to traffic, and there will be no on-street parking during construction.

Construction Site

From the 18 to 25 November, fencing will be erected in order to establish the construction site and to allow
enabling works to take place. Information boards, directional signage and support for business promotional
materials will be displayed from the 25 November onwards. Construction traffic will require access to the
site.

During construction communal bins that are currently situated on Constitution Street will be moved to the
nearest side street. The regularity of uplifts will be monitored to ensure the area is kept clean and tidy. If you
require a bulk uplift, please contact the Council’s waste service in the usual manner.

Lothian buses will be diverting Services 12 and 16 during the construction phase as follows:
a) Service 12 (towards Seafield) – between Leith Walk and Links Place, buses will be diverted via
Duke Street, Academy Street, Wellington Place and John’s Place.
b) Service 12 (towards city centre) – between Gladstone Place and Leith Walk, buses will be
diverted via East Hermitage Place, Vanburgh Place and Duke Street.
c) Services 16 and N16 – between Leith Walk and Commercial Street, buses will be diverted via
Great Junction Street, Henderson Street and The Shore in both directions.

Please note, these diversions will change once the Leith Walk works commence. 

Supporting Local Businesses

There will be a Support for Business package in operation, devised in consultation with businesses in the
area, which 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.

A logistics hub to support Constitution Street businesses will be set up on Mitchell Street to help with
deliveries and dispatches. Help will also be at hand via the logistics hub for residents expecting large
deliveries such as appliances or furniture. Further information can be found on the website.

Leith Walk Enabling Works

Enabling works are also scheduled to get under way on Leith Walk in mid-November to prepare the access
lane for traffic ahead of the main construction work, which begins in spring 2020. The traffic management
will be implemented on this section from 18 November 2019. Traffic will continue to flow both ways and bus
services will be unaffected, other than some bus stops being moved a short distance in agreement with
Lothian Buses.

Considerate Contractor Scheme

SFN and MUS both follow the principles of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, which requires a firm
focus on outstanding management, efficiency, awareness of local environmental issues, and a genuine
consideration for neighbours and the community.
During the time that the above works are being undertaken, all efforts will be made to minimise disruption
and inconvenience to residents and businesses as much as possible. Further details can be found at
https://www.ccscheme.org.uk/

For further information please visit www.tramstonewhaven.co.uk. Alternatively, you can contact us via email at
Newhaven.tram@edinburgh.gov.uk or by phone on 0131 322 1122. In addition, we are hosting a drop-in session
event on Thursday 7 November from 12pm – 7.30pm at South Leith Parish Church where you can come and meet
the team who can answer any queries you might have about the planned works.