Transport Convenor, Councillor Gordon Mackenzie is endeavouing to break the current impasse in the long-running legal wrangling between tie and Bilfinger Berger, according to an article in the Edinburgh Evening News on 7 June:

Trams dispute: 'It's a brave move – and a huge gamble'

The article outlines two potential outcomes:

Scenario 1 - the two sides agree that Bilfinger Berger leaves the project soon. That might involve a pay-off after completing part of the work, to St Andrew Square or Haymarket.

Scenario 2 - the dispute will now end up in court. Which could leave the scheme stuck in limbo for years without a single new track being laid. 

Neither of these scenarios would see tracks laid in Leith for the forseeable future. Any potential benefit from the arrival of the trams will not now be forthcoming to offset the hardship and inconvenience encountered during the MUDFA works.