New image of former East Lothian power station site revealed as council redevelops site

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Nearly a decade after its iconic chimneys came crashing to the ground, a new image of the former Cockenzie Power Station site has been released.

East Lothian Council bought the giant 230 acre site from Scottish Power in 2018 with a vision of creating employment and an economic centre from it.

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And as work begins to move tonnes of material from the nearby coal store onto the site to upfill the area for future development, the aerial view of the flattened site reveals its scale and potential.

An update aerial photo of the former Cockenzie Power Station site, courtesy East Lothian Council.An update aerial photo of the former Cockenzie Power Station site, courtesy East Lothian Council.
An update aerial photo of the former Cockenzie Power Station site, courtesy East Lothian Council. | LDR

Cockenzie Power Station was decommissioned in 2013 and two years later thousands of people gathered on land and sea to witness the demolition of its twin chimneys which had become a coastal landmark for locals.

Public consultations and masterplans followed as the local authority looked for investors for the site with interest to date coming from green energy firms.

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In the image released this week the first of a number of projects in the pipeline can be seen progressing at the top of the site where Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL) are building their storage facilities which will bring energy from an offshore windfarm onto land and into the National Grid.

Cockenzie's landmark chimneys were demolished in 2015 - two years after the East Lothian power station's closureCockenzie's landmark chimneys were demolished in 2015 - two years after the East Lothian power station's closure
Cockenzie's landmark chimneys were demolished in 2015 - two years after the East Lothian power station's closure

On the right of the site white buildings and a car park have been constructed, which the council says relates to the ICOL project and will return to council once that project is complete.

East Lothian Council says work to date on the majority of the site has been around creating the infrastructure to allow material from the coal store to the site, including putting up security fencing and reinforcing Edinburgh Road, which lies between the two sites, so trucks can cross.

The first trucks are due to start rolling into the former power station site next week and continue bringing materials onto the site into next spring.

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