AROUND 200 human remains dating back hundreds of years will have to be moved to make way for a long-awaited extension to Edinburgh’s tram system.
Officials said they expected to exhume bones from as far back as the 14th century to enable construction works to take place in the north of the city.
It comes as the council announced a £30,000 consultation on its plans to extend Edinburgh’s tram system down Leith Walk and along to Newhaven. A final vote on whether to go ahead with the proposals is expected in the autumn.
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Project director Rob Leech said a historic wall backing on to South Leith Parish Church will need to be dismantled if the extension gets the go-ahead, before being painstakingly rebuilt brick by brick.
He said: “In taking the wall down, we know that there are going to be additional exhumations required through that area.
“We also know there’s going to be significant archaeology through that area. John Lawson, the city archaeologist, said the area around Constitution Street is one of the most archaeologically rich in the city.
“You need to face into that and not shy away from it. So within the programme of works, we have allowed quite a significant period of time to deal not only with the listed wall – which needs to be rebuilt block by block – but also to deal with that archaeology. I believe these are bodies from many hundreds of years ago.”
Aborted works on the original tram line ground to a halt in 2008 after hundreds of bodies were discovered under Constitution Street in Leith.
Stunned crews initially feared they had stumbled across a crime scene. However it later emerged the remains were part of an old burial ground linked to nearby South Leith Parish Church.
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The 500-year-old church boasts a colourful history taking in some of the most dramatic events in Scotland’s past – from the “Rough Wooing” of Mary, Queen of Scots to the bloody civil wars that ripped through England, Ireland and Scotland in the 1600s.
It was even damaged during the Siege of Leith in 1560, when English troops attempted to oust the French – who were camped by Edinburgh’s port – from Scotland amid the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation.
Mr Leech, who is widely credited with turning Edinburgh’s tram project around during its previous troubles, said it had not yet been decided where the bodies will be taken.
But Edinburgh’s transport leader Councillor Lesley Macinnes insisted: “It’s something we will be very careful about bringing to the correct conclusion.”
The council’s six-week consultation will seek the views of residents and businesses set to experience significant disruption if plans to extend the trams get voted through.
Leith Walk would be reduced to one lane during the 18-month construction period, while parts of Constitution Street will also close.
Businesses are expected to be handed a package of financial support to cope with the upheaval, as well as receiving tax relief.
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A survey commission by the trams’ project team found 59 per cent of people interviewed on Leith Walk agreed the new line would benefit the area.
When asked what would improve public transport on Leith Walk, the most popular response was “introduce a tram service”.
A total of 368 ten-minute interviews took place in November, with 56 per cent saying they were likely to use the new line.
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