Purcell to meet Salmond and will demand Glasgow Airport scheme goes ahead

By Robbie Dinwoodie and Damien Henderson COUNCIL leader Steven Purcell will meet First Minister Alex Salmond today and urge him to reinstate the Glasgow Airport Rail Link project.

It will be their first meeting since the Scottish Government Budget announcement last week that it was scrapping the £212million project.

Mr Purcell, speaking ahead of a meeting about the 2014 Commonwealth Games, will also seek assurances other projects associated with the sporting event are safe.

Mr Purcell had previously formed a close, cross-political bond with the First Minister while securing the Games for Glasgow, but he said there had been a "breach of trust" over the Budget decision.

The city leader said he had received assurances from Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson three weeks ago that the rail link - which would see a one-mile spur being added from Paisley to Glasgow Airport - would be delivered.

Mr Purcell will meet Mr Salmond in Edinburgh and said: "I will be explicitly asking the First Minister to reconsider the decision to scrap the Glasgow Airoport Rail Link project.

"I am extremely disappointed this key project has been axed and will be reminding him we stood shoulder to shoulder in Sri Lanka and promised every commitment would be met by his government and my city.

"It was a breach of trust between city and government over the Commonwealth Games.

"I will also want to know whether the Scottish Government intends to axe other projects associated with the Games.

"Three weeks ago I asked Mr Stevenson, in relation to information and intelligence from within Transport Scotland, if there was any reason to be fearful for the airport rail link, and he said there was no reason.

"People will understand why those of us in Glasgow will feel there has been a breach of trust between city and government."

John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, announced last Thursday the Paisley to Glasgow Airport element of the rail link project would be postponed amid concerns over rising costs.

Government agency Transport Scotland claimed it had already pushed the price beyond its £395m budget.

Mr Purcell described the decision as a "dagger in the heart of Glasgow". However, he said he would "put party politics aside" if he could "restore trust" with the Government.

Both the Glasgow Airport Rail Link and one to Edinburgh Airport, which was abandoned earlier amid similar concerns over cost and engineering difficulties involved in tunnelling under the runway, were included as "guaranteed" projects in the bid document that secured the Games for Glasgow.

There has been speculation the decision to go ahead with the M74 extension, another "guaranteed" project and one of the biggest road-building schemes in a generation, was aided by Glasgow's bid for the Games.

Last week Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, warned the decision to drop the rail link project could cost Glasgow more than £400m and west Scotland more than £700m.

The Chamber estimates the decision not to find an extra £70m needed to build the link will deprive Glasgow of £412m over the next 20 years.

Another £313m would have been injected into the surrounding areas.

Mr Patrick voiced his disapproval of the decision to axe the rail link.

He said: "What kind of message does this send to the community and what indication does it give of our ability to deliver in the future?"