GLASGOW’S SNP administration lost a vote on its airport access project as opposition councillors voiced their frustration with council leader Susan Aitken.

The decision to scrap plans for a tram-train link from Central Station to Glasgow Airport in favour of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) pod link between the airport and Paisley Gilmour Street station have been heavily criticised.

When an update on the scheme’s progress was presented to the Glasgow City Council’s Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm City Policy Committee, Labour group leader Frank McAveety put forward a motion calling for a more detailed report to be prepared.

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All opposition councillors on the committee backed his proposal, meaning the SNP group lost out by eight votes to seven.

Mr McAveety said the report had been prepared by council officers but it was Ms Aitken who had taken the political decision to abandon the direct rail link plan.

“The Labour group position was to move to object because the plan lacks ambition for the city,” he said.

“The report didn’t reflect ways in which capacity issues [at Central Station] could be addressed.”

He questioned why Ms Aitken hadn’t consulted opposition parties before making the decision and attended the meeting to present the report.

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“It was no way of doing business on an issue of such importance,” he added.

Mr McAveety believes the council leader took the decision as she doesn’t want to upset Scottish Government transport minister Michael Matheson, who has shown support for the PRT scheme.

“That’s not good enough for Glasgow,” the Labour leader said.

Tory councillor Thomas Kerr echoed Mr McAveety’s concerns over Ms Aitken’s absence from the committee meeting.

He said the council leader had said the new preferred option had the support of Glasgow City Council but no opposition members had been consulted.

“It’s a big issue, people feel as though they’re being ignored by the leadership,” Mr Kerr added.

Ms Aitken recently told councillors any hopes for a tram-train link to the airport were “dead”, saying the plans fell apart under scrutiny.

She said the PRT pods would link into the existing rail network.

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“Personal Rapid Transit encompass a whole range of different types of transportation, which will link the airport directly into our existing rail system, as is the norm for airport access links,” the council leader said.

“That work is being carried out and whatever the final form of the new project and the new link, it will take place within the same timescale as the tram-train project.”

A spokesman said: “The decision to progress the business case for a PRT system was taken, as you might expect, by the Glasgow City Region Cabinet in line with ordinary project governance.”

Cllr Susan Aitken added: "The decision to investigate alternatives to the discredited tram-train project was made, unanimously, by the City Region cabinet following an independent review which highlighted that it would not only negatively impact train users throughout the city region, but would not be cost effective or deliver modal shift.

“These are long-standing governance arrangements, put in place by Labour when the City Deal was set up. Cllr McAveety is presumably well aware of that, given he was supposed to be chairing it for more than 18 months.”