Almost four out of five residents in Cockenzie and Port Seton have signed a petition calling on the Scottish Government to stop Scottish Enterprise from building a massive energy park in their community.

A breakdown of the addresses of those names gathered by the Coastal Regeneration Alliance in their battle to halt the controversial proposals showed more than 50 per cent of the 7,000 signatories lived in the community, which has an adult population estimated at 4,413.

The overwhelming opposition led Sheila Chambers, chairwoman of Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council, to last week make an impassioned plea on their behalf to the guardians of the Firth of Forth to join their fight.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Forth Estuary Forum in Edinburgh, Mrs Chambers told them the response from the community had been “unprecedented”.

And she urged the forum – which brings together organisations, local authorities and voluntary groups from across the Forth area – to get involved, warning that the impact of the proposed energy park on the marine environment could be devastating.

The Coastal Regeneration Alliance analysed the demographics of its petition, both online and from local collections, and found the majority of people who had signed it lived in Cockenzie and Port Seton.

Reporting the results, Gareth Jones said that more than 50 per cent – equalling more than 3,500 names – of those who backed the petition lived in the community.

East Lothian Council’s latest population statistics for the same community – based on the General Register in 2012 – lists a total population of 4,413 over the age of 16.

It means that over 79 per cent of adults living in the village have signed the petition.

Mrs Chambers, who appeared before the Forth Estuary Forum last Thursday with David Ostler from the Coastal Regeneration Alliance, said the concern of the community was very real and with good cause.

She said: “We are not Luddites and would welcome a redeveloped gas-powered generating station at Cockenzie, and indeed sympathetic local industries creating local employment.” But she said the forum had to actively engage in the process, pointing to a possible impact on the Site of Special Scientific Interest at Aberlady Bay and concerns about dredging.

She said: “I urge you to actively engage now with this development in order to protect the marine environment.

“Use your undoubted expertise, knowledge and influence to prevent the damage this development could cause and to promote the wellbeing of those who live and work around the Forth.”