Day: March 27, 2022

Leonardo DiCaprio tops list of most-viewed Oscar acceptance speeches

  • Leonardo DiCaprio officially has the most popular Academy Award acceptance speech of all time, with more than 47 million views.
  • Matthew McConaughey has the second most-viewed Oscar’s acceptance speech on record, with more than 21 million views. 
  • Jennifer Lawrence’s fall up the Academy steps has more than 14 million views on YouTube. 

New research reveals that Leonardo DiCaprio has the most-viewed Oscar’s acceptance speech of all time. 

The study conducted by casino experts MapleCasino examined the verified Oscars YouTube account to reveal the most-viewed Acadamy Award acceptance speeches, to establish the Internet’s favourite Oscar speeches ahead of this year’s ceremony.  

The research revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio has the most-viewed Oscar acceptance speech in history.

After multiple nominations, DiCaprio finally won his long-awaited ‘Best Actor’ Acadamy Award in 2016 for his role in The Revenant, attracting more than 47 million views on YouTube. The Hollywood actor used his speech to address critical issues, highlighting the threat of climate change and the damaging effects of big polluters, telling the audience to “not take this planet for granted.” 

Matthew McConaughey has the second most popular Oscars acceptance speech, with more than 26 million views on YouTube. The Dallas Buyer’s Club actor won his ‘Best Actor’ award in 2014 – beating the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale – and delivered a passionate talk thanking God, his family and colleagues, before finishing his speech with his signature phrase, “alright, alright, alright”.  

With more than 21 million views, the Internet’s third favourite Oscar acceptance speech goes to Heath Ledger. As one of the most emotional speeches of all time, the late Heath Ledger won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in 2009 for his role as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Due to Heath Ledger’s sudden death the year before, his family accepted the award on his behalf, going down in history as one of the most memorable award acceptance speeches of all time. 

Kate Winslet has the fourth most popular Oscar’s acceptance speech, in addition to the most-watched speech for a ‘Best Actress’ winner. Kate Winslet won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Reader in 2009, beating the likes of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. The actress struggled to hold back her emotions during her evocative speech, which has now received more than 17 million views. 

The findings revealed that Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar acceptance speech is the fifth most popular on record for her 2013 ‘Best Actress’ award for Silver Linings Playbook. Jennifer Lawrence will go down in Oscars history, sadly not for her speech, but for her fall up the Academy steps on her way to collect her award, which has now received more than 14.5 million views on YouTube. 

Additionally, Marlon Brando’s acceptance speech also features as one of the Internet’s favourites, placing eighth overall, making it the oldest acceptance speech in the ranking.

Receiving the ‘Best Actor’ award for his role in The Godfather, Brando’s 1973 speech has more than 11 million YouTube views, despite him not making an appearance. During the iconic speech, actress and Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather spoke on Brando’s behalf, protesting the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. 

A spokesperson for MapleCasino commented on the findings: “From Kate Winslet’s emotional speech to Leonardo DiCaprio’s political address, acceptance speeches can be used to not only celebrate wins but also as a vital platform to voice political and social change.

“The Internet celebrated when DiCaprio won his well-deserved Academy Award back in 2016, delivering such a powerful speech that it still sparks interest today.

“As a keen environmental activist, DiCaprio used his platform to call attention to the detrimental effects of climate change, which now has close to double the number of views of Matthew McConaughey’s speech.”  

The study was conducted by Maple Casino – the premier authority for the best online casinos in Canada, devoted to connecting Canadian players with the top online casino reviews.  

Top 10 most viewed Oscar acceptance speeches of all time 
Winner YouTube views 
Leonardo DiCaprio 47,352,852 
Matthew McConaughey 26,186,277 
Heath Ledger 21,425,866 
Kate Winslet 17,530,502 
Jennifer Lawrence 14,589,004 
Eddie Redmayne 13,734,109 
Natalie Portman 12,183,834 
Marlon Brando 11,454,828 
Joaquin Phoenix 11,386,659 
Sandra Bullock 10,917,316 

 END 

St Andrews lights up as the countdown to The 150th Open continues

A spectacular light and sound projection show was beamed on to the iconic clubhouse of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews as the countdown to The 150th Open continued in the historic town last night.

Ahead of the move into British Summer Time and the Major Championship season, The R&A Celebration of Light was attended by residents of St Andrews who gathered at the world-renowned Old Course to watch celebrated moments from the Championship’s cherished history brought to life through the dramatic projection show.

The state-of-the-art production was narrated by actor and lifelong golf fan Gerard Butler. It charted the remarkable journey of golf since The Open began in 1860, celebrating renowned Champion Golfers and unforgettable performances from many of the sport’s greatest names.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The R&A Celebration of Light was a spectacular way to continue our countdown to The 150th Open at St Andrews. You felt a real sense of excitement among the spectators who attended this evening as we enjoyed reliving the iconic moments which have made this great Championship so revered by millions of fans around the world.

“The 150th Open is a going to be a momentous occasion for golf and we look forward with great anticipation to seeing the world’s best men’s golfers create more history when they compete for the Claret Jug over the Old Course in just over three months’ time.” 

A tribute in support of Ukraine and its people also took place as colours of the nation’s flag were projected onto the clubhouse building. A live performance from the City of St Andrews pipe band entertained the attending crowd prior to the show.

For those unable to make it in person to experience the show, the entire display is now available to watch via The Open’s social media channels (@TheOpen) and TheOpen.com.

The show was the latest activity in a schedule of special events taking place before the first tee is struck at the Championship. The R&A is also hosting the Celebration of Champions on Monday 11 July, a special exhibition of golf on the Old Course that will bring together a number of the world’s most renowned golfers during the week of The 150th Open.

The R&A has been working with Rolex, a Patron of The Open, to develop a series of exclusive content which will be published via TheOpen.com in the lead up to the Championship.

‘The Journey’ will provide a unique insight into golf’s oldest major championship and focus on players, fans and the moments that have been written into history. The series launched last month and will continue over the coming months.

For more information on The R&A Celebration of Light, and latest news on The 150th Open, please visit TheOpen.com

Wheatley Group spring into action to tackle litter

The Wheatley Group – Scotland’s Leading Housing, Care and Property Group – is embarking on a ‘Week of Action’ across its neighbourhoods as part of environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful’s national Spring Clean campaign.

From 28 March – 2 April, the Wheatley Group will be organising litter-busting activities and events, including litter picks, in its communities throughout Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.

A highlight of the week will be the launch of six new Clean Up hubs at Wheatley locations in Glasgow which will empower people to take action to improve their own communities.

Opening on 30 March, the new hubs join over 80 across Scotland, and will host litter picking equipment that will be available for Wheatley customers to borrow.

Keep Scotland Beautiful’s research has revealed that 88% of Scots agree that litter is a problem across Scotland – and 70% are concerned about litter in their area.

For those frustrated by litter in the community or the places they visit, the focused week of action as part of Spring Clean Scotland is the perfect opportunity to make a difference by picking up litter … Get involved and help make the places we care about cleaner and safer for people and animals.

Barry Fisher, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We’ve been working with the Wheatley Group since 2017 to deliver environmental improvements through initiatives like environmental quality assessments of multi-storey flats and tenements based on the National Award for Environmental Excellence® framework, staff training and the creation of Tenant Improvement Panels.

“We’re delighted to be developing that partnership now by supporting the ‘Week of Action’ and the new Clean Up Hubs.”

Steven Gray, Wheatley’s Director of Environmental Services, said: “Our environmental week of action is about shining a spotlight on environmental services across the Group and engaging with the communities we work in.

“We are proud to work in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, along with local community groups and schools, and look forward to seeing many of those groups out supporting our efforts to deliver safe and tidy communities for our customers.”

There are Community Clean Up Hubs in 28 local authority areas across Scotland, to support community action.

If you’d like to get involved, find your nearest hub: 

https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/clean-up-scotland-map/#

One step closer to national memorial for those accused of witchcraft

A national memorial dedicated to those accused of witchcraft is one step closer to becoming a reality following a visit to a proposed Eco-Therapy Wellness and Leisure Park development being undertaken by National Pride UK at St Ninians, near Kelty in Fife.

National Pride directors, Irene Bisset and Andy Whitlock, hosted representatives from Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland (RAWS) and local councillors to the site of its proposed Eco-Therapy Park, St Ninians Wellness, at the site of the former opencast coal mine.

Sara Kelly and Elizabeth McMann, Trustees of RAWS, as well as Councillors Mino Manekshaw, also a Trustee, and Alex Campbell, attended the site visit.

RAWS is a registered charity which aims to raise awareness of the over 4,000 individuals accused of witchcraft by the church and state in Scotland between the 16th and 18th centuries and to campaign for a national memorial to be erected in Scotland to memorialise and pay respect to those accused and killed.

The visit follows National Pride’s recent declaration of full support for a national memorial to be built at St Ninians.

The group looked at potential locations at the site and discussed the ongoing campaign for a national memorial, which follows the Scottish Government’s posthumous apology to the thousands of people persecuted as witches in Scotland earlier this month.

Community Interest Company, National Pride UK, plans to make St Ninians an ecologically friendly and environmentally sensitive health, wellness and leisure destination.

Andy Whitlock from National Pride UK, said: “We were proud to host Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland and local Councillors at St Ninians.

“Before we look to take the next steps on hosting a national memorial for those accused witches, we will seek to engage extensively on the potential design for this.

“As an Eco-Therapy Park accessible to the public, St Ninians Wellness will be a place of nature-based healing and we fully agree with those who have identified it as a fitting location for such a memorial.”

Elizabeth McMann, Trustee of Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland (RAWS), said: “We set out to get a pardon from the state, an apology from the church, and a memorial to commemorate the accused witches in Scotland, as well as those throughout the world.

“Having visited St Ninians, we believe that this is an ideal place to put the much-desired memorial and it is especially relevant as a location given the major role that Fife played in pursuing those accused of witchcraft.”

Sara Kelly, co-founder of RAWS, said: “St Ninians is a beautiful site and you can see its immense potential to host such a memorial. It fits in very much with our ethos of communities, the environment and that the people who we want to be remembered are in a respectful and beautiful place.

“St Ninians would be the ideal location, it is highly accessible, and is somewhere that anyone who is interested could visit on a regular basis.  Educating the general public and school children as part of this is also very important to us.”

National Pride (St Ninians) Ltd will soon bring forward proposals to Fife Council for the development of the overall site.

Construction: planning approvals boost offers positive outlook

  • Planning approvals rise 11% in three months to February, boosting development pipeline
  • Contract awards for major projects rise 36% in three months to February
  • Underlying project approvals are up 10% in three months to February, 2% higher than a year ago
  • Hotel & Leisure is February’s strongest performer, up 23% on preceding three months and 7% on a year ago
  • Office and retail-starts increase 17% and 11% in the three months to February
  • North-East bucks the trend to deliver growth both in the preceding three months and previous year

Glenigan, one of the construction industry’s leading insight and intelligence experts, has released the March 2022 edition of its Construction Review.

This Review focuses on the three months to the end of February 2022, covering all projects with a total value of £100 million or less (unless otherwise indicated), with all figures seasonally adjusted.

It’s a report which provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of year-on-year construction data, giving built environment professionals a unique insight into sector performance over the last 12 months.

Hope on the horizon

The value of underlying and major project[1] starts on-site experienced sharp declines in the three months to February (-17%), over a quarter lower on 2021 (-26%).

However, a rallying development pipeline should give the sector reasons for cautious optimism.

The value of detailed planning approvals rose by 11% to average £8,991 million against the previous three months.  Major project approvals performed strongly against the same period (+26%); and underlying approvals witnessed growth of 10%, standing 2% higher than a year ago.

Despite a modest industry-wide dip in main contract awards (-5%), those for Major projects were up, increasing 36% during the three months to February.

Partially offsetting the abnormally weak start to the year in performance-terms, this boost in planning approval and contract awards sits in line with Glenigan’s most recent Forecast, indicating potential market revival in the second half of 2022

Glenigan Construction Review_Image 1.png

Output rising

However, a gradual increase in construction activity during the last three months also suggests a sector on the brink of resurgence.

According to the latest ONS figures, overall construction output during the three months to January increased 3% against the preceding three months, up 6.9% higher than a year ago.

Drilling down into these figures, R&M output increased, up 1.4% during the same timeframe and up 5.4% on the previous year. Growth in this area was predominantly driven by a 2.9% rise in non-housing R&M and a 1.1% increase in public housing R&M work.

Within the same time period, new work output also increased 4.0% and 7.9% compared the previous year. A rise in industrial work has been a main driver, growing 11.2% and 30.4% on the year previous.

Private housing and infrastructure also strengthened. Infrastructure output grew 5.2% against the last three months and 30% compared to a year ago. Whilst private housing output increased 3.4%, rising 11.3% on 2021 figures.

Finally, commercial output rose 5.2% against the preceding three months but fell 7.4% compared with the previous year.

Glenigan Construction Review_Image 2.png

Mixed sector performance

Individual sector performance results were mixed, with many still heavily affected by materials and skills shortages, caused by ongoing supply chain issues and geopolitical disturbances.

Overall, housing was one of the worst performers in the three months to February, with project starts 21% lower than the preceding three months (Oct-Nov 2021), plummeting 46% compared to the same period in 2021.

Private housing starts fell once again (-23%), contributing further to the ongoing downward trajectory which has characterised this vertical over the last few months. Social housing project-starts faired little better, falling 16% during the three months to February .

In the non-residential sector, hotel and leisure project-starts continue to be a strong performer, having grown almost a quarter (23%) and up 7% on a year ago.

Office and retail-starts also increased 17% and 11% in the three months to February, but were still down 6% and 15% compared with the previous year respectively. Likewise, infrastructure-starts increased a meagre 2%, but were 27% lower on 2021.

Other sectors continued to struggle as external factors continued to bite, with health (-21%), education (-2%), civils (-17%) starts all falling in the three months to February, respectively down 18%, 15% and 34% against the previous year.

Regional breakdown

The North East managed to buck the declining trend, experiencing 6% growth on both the preceding three months to February and on the same period in 2021. This is, in part, attributable to a number of projects coming online, including an £11 million office development in Middlesbrough.

Scotland and London also saw growth on the last three months, at +13% and +9% respectively but were still down -36% and -26% on figures a year ago.

Elsewhere, the majority of regions have performed poorly during the three months to February.

Commenting on the Review, Allan Wilen, Glenigan’s Economic Director, says, “Socio-economic events, which have held back sector recovery obstinately persist and now, with the added geopolitical factor in the Ukraine, supply chains will be squeezed further.

“This will inevitably increase demand, and price, on essential structural materials which might prompt many clients and contractors to push back starts until availability of building products becomes more reliable and cost effective”

He continues, “This will obviously impact performance levels, but, so long as even a few of these lingering issues resolve themselves over the next quarter, I expect we’ll see a renewed burst of activity in line with a solidly growing pipeline of planning consents.”

To download a copy of the full March Review click here.

To find out more about Glenigan, its expert insight and leading market analysis, click here.

Panic as funeral pre-payment firms collapse under new reforms

Scotland’s largest independent funeral directors, William Purves, is fielding calls from several worried customers concerned about the implications of forthcoming funeral plan reforms. 

From July 29th, organisations selling funeral plans will fall under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which will ensure that all plans are properly underwritten. 

And while good news for customers in the long term, it is feared that many buyers will be out of pocket in the short term as some smaller funeral plan providers fold as they are unable to satisfy the FCA requirements. 

Andrew Purves, Director of William Purves explains: “Customers who have purchased pre-payment plans designed to cover the cost of their funerals are naturally concerned about the implications of the reform. 

“Thankfully we can put our customers’ minds at rest as in recent years our plans have been one of the big three providers. However, the stark reality is that some customers’ pre-bought funerals, particularly those bought from smaller providers, may not be honoured.“ 

A number of funeral plan providers have already decided to stop operating and have approached larger providers to take over their plans – sadly some are expected to fold as the July deadline looms. 

Andrew continued: “My advice is if you have concerns or worries speak to the Funeral Director who you purchased the plan from, or the plan provider themselves, and ask what guarantees they can provide.

“We are in the process of contacting all William Purves pre-payment customers to update them on the situation.

“We welcome the regulation of pre-paid plans which are designed to protect customers and raise standards for plans sold in the future; however, this is of little comfort to those people who have taken steps to put their affairs in order and who may well be penalised.

“We will continue to keep our customers informed.” 

Healthy Tip – Keep Mum’s Heart Healthy this Mother’s Day

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Keep Mum’s Heart Healthy this Mother’s Day

This Sunday, 27th of March, treat your mum to a luxurious, heart healthy day. It’s important for all mums to remember to take care of their own health and wellbeing, as well as that of their families. Here’s a few ways to make the day healthy and special:

Breakfast in Bed

  • Your mum will love being served breakfast, so pop by the shops early or make arrangements the day before.  Why not serve up a tray of muesli with juicy berries, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on wholemeal toast and freshly squeezed fruit juice. Dish up yoghurt with a medley of exotic fruits such as mango, kiwi, lychees and star fruit to make the tray more colourful.

Activities Galore

  • An active day out is a great way to spend Mother’s Day. This could be anything from a few rounds of tennis/badminton, a walk in the countryside or a cycle in the park. Spending time together as a family is always a treat. Take a healthy picnic and make sure you do the washing up when you get home. 

Stress-free Day

  • Why not pamper her with a home spa? Light a fragranced candle and treat her to a manicure, pedicure, a relaxing facial or a back/neck massage. Running errands, doing the cooking and the washing up is a good way for mum to have a well-earned and stress free day.

Reverse the roles this Mother’s Day by looking after your mum and treating her to a luscious, heart healthy day!

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: 

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Plans for Scotland’s largest incinerator go up in smoke

Environmental campaigners have hailed the news that plans for a major incinerator at Stonehouse in South Lanarkshire have been cancelled after sustained community opposition. 

Viridor, one of the UK’s biggest waste management companies, has cancelled plans to build what would have been Scotland’s largest incinerator. The decision comes as the Scottish Government’s independent review considers the future of incineration.

The Overwood incinerator could have burned 330,000 tonnes of rubbish and would have led to a substantial rise in vehicles on the road in the area and subsequently a rise in air and noise pollution too. 

Kim Pratt, Circular Economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “This is a huge victory for the Stonehouse community and they should be proud of their efforts.

“Viridor have made this decision before the findings of the Scottish Government’s review into incineration are published next month, signalling that even large waste management companies know that time is up for incineration in Scotland.

“This decision shows that the current moratorium on new incineration applications should be extended immediately and that Scotland needs an exit strategy from incineration if it is to meet its climate goals.

“We need to see a greater focus on reducing waste and recycling, and we must stop burning our valuable resources if we are to bring down the consumption levels that are wrecking the planet.”

Dovesdale Action Group have led the local campaign against the project, blocking earlier plans for a similar incinerator nearby and leading the huge community response opposing the Overwood plant.

John Young, from the Dovesdale Action Group said, “The announcement by Viridor to withdraw their proposal for the largest incinerator in Scotland is testament to the strength of the campaign here in South Lanarkshire to protect our communities from the impact it would have had on our rural landscape, public health, the environment and climate change.

“This is the second time we have fought and defeated proposals for such a development. 

“This campaign has raised the issues of incineration to a national level in understanding the threats such proposals have on our climate targets, recycling targets and protecting communities across Scotland. Today ‘nature’ is telling us the time has come to think differently about how we manage our waste and produce goods. 

“Dovesdale Action Group and communities want to see a national policy in Scotland that reflects our aspirations of a cleaner, greener society and we hope that the national review of incineration reflects the need for change and sees Scotland take an international role in leading that change globally.”

Scottish household waste data shows that incineration rates have risen rapidly over the last decade. In 2011, households burnt 70,000 tonne of waste but by 2020 that figure had risen to 606,000 tonnes.

Over the same period the amount of waste recycled has fallen and Scotland now has the worst recycling rates in the UK.

Scotland currently has six working incinerators for household waste and a capacity to burn 1.6 million tonnes of waste per year.

From Inverurie to Irvine, a further six incinerators are due to start operating in the next few years with the capacity to burn a further 1,506,000 tonnes of waste a year. There are at least four other incinerators under consideration.

TUC: Five ways the government can help mums this Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day mums across the country will wake up to breakfast in bed and bouquets of flowers from their little ones. But although the recognition from family members is appreciated, the fact is many working mums are being pushed to the brink.

Juggling work with family life is not easy. And working mums are buckling under the strain of a combination of caring responsibilities and the added pressures of wages and bills crisis.

Last week the Chancellor delivered his spring statement – setting out spending commitments for the next six months. But there was nothing in the Chancellor’s mini-budget to support working mums, despite the fact that recent TUC research found that one in three parents of pre-school age children spend more than a third of their pay on childcare – a staggering amount when households across the country are struggling to cover soaring energy bills.

And there are other challenges facing women in the labour market. Nearly two in five (38%) key workers are paid less than £10 an hour, and most of them are women. Around 2.5 million women key workers earn under £10 an hour.  

One in 10 (1.4 million) women workers earn too little to get any sick pay. And TUC research shows that BME women are twice as likely to be on a zero hours contract than their white male counterparts.   

Mums took on the lion’s share of caring responsibilities during the pandemic when schools closed. Now they’re more likely to have to take time off work to care for their children when they get Covid-19. Many are being forced to sacrifice hours and pay to do so. 

And too many women are stuck in low-paid, insecure jobs with few rights and no sick pay. They deserve so much more. 

5 ways the government can help mums this Mothers Day

This Mother’s Day, the TUC wants the government to introduce five key measures to help mums stay in work and support their families: 

  • Increase the minimum wage to £10 an hour
  • Increase statutory sick pay to at least the level of the real Living Wage, for everyone in work.
  • Bring in an entitlement to 10 days parental leave per year for each child, on full pay. Currently parents have no legal right to paid leave to look after their children. 
  • Ban zero hours contracts.
  • Introduce a right to genuine flexible work, from the first day in a job. Flexible working includes having predictable or set hours, working from home, job-sharing, working compressed hours and term-time only working. 

Long-term reforms 

But ministers cannot stop there. The TUC says the gender pay gap opens when women become mothers, which then feeds into the gender pensions gap later in life.  

Government must look at fundamental reforms to equalise care between men and women. A striking omission from the spring statement was the lack of any mention of childcare.

Without access to affordable childcare many families will be forced into further hardship and many mums will be forced out of the labour market.

​And the Governments evaluation of shared parental leave is long overdue.

The TUC says ministers must:  

  • Tackle the gender pay and pensions gap. Government should require all employers to publish an action plan alongside their pay gap reporting, setting out the steps they will take to close their gender pay gaps.
  • Invest in the childcare sector and ensure everyone has access to good quality and affordable childcare and childcare workers are paid a living wage. TUC research found that one in three parents of pre-school age children spend more than a third of their pay on childcare. TUC research also found that over 170,000 childcare workers would benefit from a minimum wage increase to £10 per hour. 
  • Overhaul Shared Parental leave (SPL). Around only 1 per cent of eligible families take up shared parental leave. We need an individual right to SPL for both parents on a use it or lose it basis and paid at real living wage rate. 

Women have fought hard for their rights and progression in the world of work, but more than a decade of austerity, compounded by the pandemic and now the wages and bills crisis risks turning the clock back on progress towards women’s equality at work and in wider society.

If the government is serious about women’s equality then it must get serious about its policy interventions.

Trams to Newhaven project ‘on track’

The majority of track has been laid to take the tram to Newhaven as the scheme enters the final phase of construction works.

More than 3km of track – 70% of the total to be laid – is now in the ground as part of the Trams to Newhaven project, which remains on schedule to begin revenue services in spring 2023, delivered within the £207.3m budget.

The main construction work on three of the eight new tram stops is also complete, while over 3km of drainage (66% of the total) and almost 4km of communications ducting (82% of the total) serving the tram and wider area has been installed.

Construction is ‘largely finished’ on several key sections of the route, other than some localised works, including Constitution Street, between Constitution Place and Queen Charlotte Street, and Ocean Terminal to Rennie’s Isle.

Next week, operational tram stops on Princes Street and St Andrew Square will reopen following their temporary closure. These were closed to allow for the removal of the York Place tram stop and installation of new infrastructure there connecting the existing line to the new one.

As we enter the final year of major civil work ahead of testing and commissioning this winter, a review of the specific completion dates for remaining sections has been carried out.

This has resulted in some changes affecting certain sections due to various unavoidable factors such as complex utilities diversions, archaeological finds and an industry wide shortage of materials, though this is not expected to affect the final completion date.

Full details of the updated programme are available on the Trams to Newhaven website.

Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “It’s clear that the Trams to Newhaven project is well on its way to completion, as these figures show, and before long we’ll be testing trams on the streets of Leith.

“Next week, we’ll also see the return of the existing service to the city centre, which I’m sure will be great news for many.

“Of course, while this project will bring significant benefits to the area, we know that its construction has impacted all those who live and work nearby, and I’d like to thank them for their patience during the last two years.

“As we enter the final year of work to deliver the tram line, we’ve had to make some changes to the programme due to issues outwith our control.

“I want to assure communities along the route that we’re doing everything we can to mitigate the impacts of this, and that we’re still on track to begin providing the service by spring next year.”

Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said: “This project will be transformative for the north of the city and it’s really exciting to see it take shape already.

“Once complete, it will play a key role in the future growth and development of the city. Delivering the tram line to Leith will unlock a large area of the city for housing and economic development, while providing a low-carbon, clean mode of transport to densely populated communities.”

The project team is working to mitigate the impact of changes to the programme, ensuring the scheduled spring completion date is met.

Based on lessons from the first tram line, and best practice from other major European construction projects, Trams to Newhaven focuses on large work sites, providing the flexibility to continue construction elsewhere on-site if issues are encountered.

In the coming months, localised works will continue on completed sections to resolve defects, carry out landscaping, install equipment to support the new tram line including tram communication systems, complete tram stop fit-outs and install overhead line equipment, street lighting and traffic signalling.

Since 2019 the project has provided significant support to businesses through its £2.4m Support for Business initiative. As part of this more than £100k has been spent on an ‘Open for Business’ campaign, 60k deliveries have gone through dedicated logistics hubs and 140 applications have been made to the business continuity fund. In addition, the extremely popular itison scheme has seen over 20k vouchers sold, generating £200k spend in participating businesses.

Additional milestones:

  • 90% of utility diversions complete
  • Substation at Melrose Drive complete and fit-out ongoing
    Lindsay Road retaining walls complete
  • All track crossovers, which allow the tram to turn back on itself, installed
    Constitution Street wall rebuilt following archaeological excavations
  • Archaeological excavations on Constitution Street complete, which saw more than 360 bodies exhumed, dating from between 1300 and 1650, as well as finding the apparent remnants of the original medieval graveyard wall.

Still no word from the long-running Edinburgh Tram Inquiry into the Edinburgh Tram project.

This inquiry,which was set up in 2015, aims to establish why the original Edinburgh Tram project incurred delays, cost massively more than originally budgeted and through reductions in scope delivered significantly less than oroginally promised.

The costs to taxpayers so far is an eye-watering £12.5 million …

Find out more about Trams to Newhaven online.