Plans to secure land along two potential extension routes for Edinburgh’s controversial tram service are expected to be approved.

The full city council will meet on Thursday to decide whether or not it should use its compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers before they expire on May 7.

The eleventh-hour move to acquire land would prevent a lengthy legal process to regain the powers at a later date.

Councillors have already voted in principle to extend the controversial tram line from the city centre to Newhaven at an estimated cost of £144.7m.

Next week's committee will focus on CPOs for two later phases - the so-called Granton spur, leading north of Roseburn and the stretch between Newhaven and Granton Square.

A report on the issue notes taking the action now will "give certainty" that the council could construct the two phases in the future.

Of the 163 plots of land required for the Granton spur, 116 are already under council ownership.

Compensation would be payable for the remaining 47 plots of land along the route, which would run along the council-owned cycle path that follows a disused railway line as far as the shore at Granton.

Acquiring land on the proposed route between Granton and Newhaven is seen as "relatively straightforward", according to the report as the majority of the land is either already in council ownership or covered by third-party agreements.

Proceeding with the CPOs would cost an estimated £1.75m in compensation.

The figure has already been earmarked within a £5m pot to pay for investigatory work into the extension to Newhaven.

Council leader Andrew Burns said the move would "make good" any plans for extensions in the long term.

The report, written by senior official Paul Lawrence, said: "The alignments between Roseburn delta and Newhaven have the potential to enhance connectivity and better link the existing residential areas along the route with the city centre, as well as promote the development of the Granton area, which has historically suffered from poor transport links."

The original blueprint for the trams project was for it to run from Edinburgh Airport to Leith but the route was reduced as costs spiralled amid delays to the project.

The £776m tram service was officially opened in May 2014, running between the airport and York Place in the city centre, after six years of disruption and a major dispute between the council and the contractor. A total of £375m had originally been set aside for the project.