PARTS of Shandwick Place are to be fully opened up to shoppers from the start of next month as tram utility diversion work is finished ahead of schedule.
A section of the busy shopping route from the House of Fraser department store to Stafford Street will be opened to pedestrians after months of being fenced off.
Traffic will not return on to Shandwick Place until the start of August but other se
ctions of the street will be opened up to pedestrians as they are completed.
Tram firm TIE has also today announced an extension of its business support scheme to include firms within 100 metres of the airport-to-Newhaven tram line.
The first section of Shandwick Place will be re-opened in the week beginning June 2.
Business leaders today welcomed the double boost from transport chiefs.
Amie Trudgill, who is duty supervisor of the Aù Bar pub on Shandwick Place, said: "I think this will help as we have been really suffering.
"It picked up with the better weather but after 7pm or 8pm it has really dropped off and we have been closing early, which is something we've never done before.
"The fencing is really intimidating, especially at night time, and it is not always that easy to get by or cross over, especially when it is busy so hopefully this will help."
Shandwick Place was closed to traffic on March 1 and a series of diversions were put in place for drivers and the utility diversion works will be completed by the end of July.
Traders and shoppers will then get a five-month break until January next year when work to put in the tram lines and infrastructure gets under way. This is scheduled to last 17 months and it is highly unlikely that general traffic will return to the street, with the thoroughfare being reserved for buses and trams.
Willie Gallagher, executive chairman of TIE, said: "I'm delighted that we are able to announce the phased re-opening of Shandwick Place ahead of our target date. This justifies our construction methodology and highlights the benefits of short closures. We promised businesses that we would work quickly and complete the task before the Festival embargo.
"I'm pleased that we have delivered on this and been able to hand back parts of the street early.
"Coupled with the extension to the Small Business Support Scheme, it is good news for traders in Edinburgh."
City leader Jenny Dawe added: "I'm delighted part of Shandwick Place is able to re-open ahead of schedule. This shows the merit in a concentrated approach to work."
HOW IT WORKSTIE's business support scheme sees eligible businesses claim one-off payments of £3000 or £4000 for loss of business caused by the tram disruption.
Around £800,000 of a £2 million pot has so far been paid out and tram chiefs have announced details of an extension to the scheme.
The latest changes allow those businesses in streets 100 metres from the route of the tram, in areas where there has been a closure on the route for more than a week, to apply to the business support scheme.
This will mean the scheme will include shopping streets, such as William Street, that run parallel to the tram route.
Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "We've been conscious for some time that the tram works were having an impact on businesses along the route, not just those with tram frontage.
"This goes a long way to underpinning the viability of businesses during difficult trading conditions."
