THE FIRST community meetings to discuss East Lothian Council's masterplan for the former Cockenzie Power Station site will begin next week.

The council agreed to sets aside £150,000 to fund the draft masterplan in August last year as part of an attempt to secure the future of the site for the community.

Fourteen months on they have announced the appointment of consultants Peter Brett Associates to oversee the bringing together of the views of all those involved in the former power station site.

And they are planning to hold three public drop-in sessions over the next fortnight to hear people's views.

The drop-ins will be at Cockenzie Primary School, on Thursday, November 3, 7-9pm, Prestonpans Town Hall on Saturday, November 5, 10am-2pm, and Port Seton Centre, on Wednesday, November 9, 2pm-6pm.

Stefano Smith, PBA director of planning, and Cockenzie Project Lead, said: “The aim of the masterplan is to create a shared vision for the future redevelopment of the site and develop the optimum solution that extends opportunity, secures partnership investment and offers a sustainable and cost effective solution to the area regeneration that recognises that there are a number of ways in which this could be achieved. Collaboration and partnership working will be the watch words of this significantly important masterplan in East Lothian.”

The masterplan will provide a framework for the future redevelopment of the Cockenzie Power Station site in line with the latest East Lothian Local Development Plan, which is currently going through the approval process before being ratified by Scottish Ministers.

Meanwhile the consultants have launched a social media site on Facebook to seek public views called Cockenzie Futures.