"Why has the MasterPlan not been adopted?" asks Government's Reporter re former Cockenzie Power Station

… she found no alternative proposal to the planned SubStation

… she continues: "It remains unclear to me why the Council has failed to endorse the MasterPlan as a statement of Council policy."

"My conclusion is that there is no competing use for the site."



… and so, the Reporter recommended and the Government accepted and Granted Planning Consent on the shores of the Forth.

ELC is now left with the challenge of mitigating the worst environmental and job deprivation aspects of the outcome.




It's showing great reluctance to own up to its own procrastination, suggesting that its failure to follow through on the £150,000 MasterPlan Study was not a significant contributing factor for the unfavourable outcome. Rather ELC suggests that it was always inevitable bearing in mind that the Power Station site was inevitable ensnared by the National Planning Framework.

Port of Prestonpans to be studied by ELC

Hard on the tails of the Reporter's Advice and Government Decision comes a fresh feasibility study by ELC .. previously discounterd in the MasterPlan, the notion championed by Prestonpans Community Council for a Port on the site is to be evaluated. The Council wishes to 'understand the full potential of the site' before it markets it extensively.



That of course is the Council's true ambition. It wishes in the contemporary spirit of 'commercial partnerships' to find a major investor who will take the issue off their hands. Rise to the challenges. It's the way councils nationwide are proceeding with housing, not least with Hargreaves and its associated investors at Charlestoun/ Blindwells. Could ELC not take up the challenge themselves and carry forward the ambitions expressed in the MasterPlan into which literally thousands of members of the community made their contributions?

Is this covert special pleading by the 1745 Battle Trust perhaps?

We trust it's not seen that way. We are absolutely open about what we see as optimal for the area that remains of the 1745 battlesite. We want to see it return to 18th century style cropping and the area to act as the MasterPlan suggests as the 'green lung' for the other planned developments. We presently have an offer in the assume responsibility for the lands under the Community Engagement Act 2015 as we have already done for the battle's monuments, Bankton Doocot and battlefield walkways.

And yes, we unsuccessfully tendered last month for the 2019 cropping losing out alas to Brussels!

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Ed: Thanks once again to Marie Sharp and East Lothian Courier for ensuring the outcome gets widely shared.