Wrong side of the tracks

The trams should carry 11 million passengers a year

Getting a modern transport system is fast becoming a priority for many cities.

London's congestion charging is being watched by interested authorities across the country.

Trams are another way of moving people around efficiently that are gaining in popularity.

But not in Nottingham.

Or at least not among the businesses in the Beeston and Chilwell areas.

TRAM LINES

Nottingham's trams will be 33 metres long

They'll have a top speed of 50mph

They can carry 191 passengers - 62 of them seated

Line One will run 14km between Hucknall and Nottingham

The service is expected to carry 11 million people a year

The city is spending £200m to introduce its first tram network for more than 60 years.

A trial run was held earlier this month and the first service - Line One - is due to start operating in November.

And while some enthusiasts travelled miles to see the tram in action, not everyone is so keen.

Beeston and Chilwell Business and Residents Association (BCBRA) was set up to oppose the scheme - Line Three will run through their neighbourhood.

It says the tram will:

invade quiet residential areas

severely affect local businesses

ruin open spaces.

"We're told we will benefit if we survive," says Steve Williams of Beeston Bed Centre.

Prosperity

"I have not spent 18 years building a business up to try to survive."

In the opposite corner is Beeston & Chilwell for Integrated Transport (BACIT), which says the network will:

improve the area's prosperity

be more environmentally friendly

reduce traffic.

Both groups hold regular meetings and BCBRA recently organised a protest march to make their point.

Anti-tram campaigners held a protest march

They back up their cases with reams of information on their respective websites and snipe at each other's arguments.

BCBRA are worried that compulsory purchases could shut down some businesses and that the work - particularly on the Chilwell Road - would disrupt the area without providing any long-term regeneration.

"This road is going to be closed for approximately two years while the tram is built down here, with no compensation for the businesses," says campaigner Steve Willoughby.

Steve Willoughby: Businesses will suffer

"None of these businesses, or very few, will survive that period.

"Once the track is up and running this road will just be used as a corridor to ferry people from the park and ride into the centre of Nottingham."

But Nottingham City Council says full consultations will be held with all affected parties.

Financial trouble

"A lot of this is about linking the prosperity of Nottingham, the fourth most popular shopping destination in the UK, to those district centres," says the council's Stephen Barker.

Trams are becoming more popular around the UK:

Croydon has a 17 mile network carrying 20 million passengers a year - though it is in financial trouble.

Manchester's Metrolink is expanding with three new lines.

Sheffield's Supertram has 18 miles of track and now carries 1m people a month.

Edinburgh has just secured £375m of government money to re-introduce trams by 2009.