THE fight to stop an energy park being built at Cockenzie could be taken to the European Union by the people living in the affected communities.

Nearly 600 people crammed into a packed church hall this week to demand the right to decide the future of the former Cockenzie Power Station site and their communities.

And they vowed to petition not only East Lothian Council and the Scottish Parliament but the European Parliament over the environmental impact of the plans.

Residents of all ages gathered in an emphatic show of people power at a community-organised meeting in Chalmers Church Hall in Port Seton on Monday night.

People who were unable to find space in the hall crowded the open doorways as they answered a call for a united front against the proposed energy park.

And their message was summed up by one resident who said: “We have done our bit for energy in Cockenzie. Now is the time for our vision.” The grassroots campaign began when the Coastal Regeneration Forum called for public debate of the plans for the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

The Courier exclusively revealed in May that Scottish Enterprise had drawn up proposals for a marine energy park, which could change the coastline and surrounding area dramatically if it goes ahead.

It is proposed that the park, which would service the offshore windfarm industry, would build and repair wind turbines which would then be exported to the farms, and provide other onshore services to meet the industry’s demands.

Although in the early stages, talks with various bodies, including East Lothian Council, had been taking place in private over several months, and a scoping report, which covered the largest option possible, revealed the park could stretch as far inland as the site of the planned new town at Blindwells.

It could also see Edinburgh Road moved, part of the newly-opened John Muir Way re-routed away from local shops and businesses, and the reclaiming of more than 11 hectares of land from the sea to create a deep sea quay.

Last week, the Coastal Regeneration Alliance launched a social media page urging people to get involved.

On Monday night people attending the meeting were told by organisers the dredging of the sea to create the new quay would devastate the fishing industry in the area, which is estimated by Port Seton Harbours Trust to be worth about £1million a year.

They were also shown photographs of the wind turbines, including the one currently in Methil, the largest in the world, as well as a projected image of the size of one of the proposed factory sheds – measuring 700 metres long – on the land, to show the impact.

Local artist Andrew Crummy, who has been a driving force behind the community-led meetings, said it was not about protesting but about the community producing its own vision for the future and fighting for it.

He said: “We are not a protest group just saying we do not want this, we are making a legitimate challenge and coming up with what we see as our vision for our community, and saying this is what we should have.” The meeting agreed to circulate a drafted letter to all residents of communities affected for support, as well as petitioning East Lothian Council, the Scottish Parliament and Europe to back their condemnation of further industrial development at the site.

And they rejected a suggestion they should back Inchcape Windfarm’s plans for a substation to be built on part of the Battle of Prestonpans site, with only two votes approving it.

One audience member said: “If we say yes to that we are just opening the door, we have to say no to everything and push for our own vision.” Shona Brash, one of the organisers of the meeting, said: “This was a real example of people coming together as a community and using people power to make their voices heard.

“We have to continue meeting and take ideas on board, and we will take this forward to produce our vision of our communities for the future.” No elected councillors or politicians attended the meeting, but county MSP Iain Gray was due to meet Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney yesterday (Thursday) to discuss the proposed energy park.

Mr Gray said: “The Scottish Government’s proposal for an energy park at Cockenzie cannot be dismissed as it could mean the creation of valuable, high-quality jobs. But there is no doubt that the local community has real concerns which at the very least need to be much better addressed than they have been so far. “I am due to meet the Cabinet Secretary for Finance this week to discuss this proposal and will of course take the chance to raise those concerns with him.”