LAND at a former power station is to be used as a drive-through Covid-19 testing centre for key workers.

East Lothian Council has confirmed that the former Cockenzie Power Station site will be opened and operated by the military as part of the UK  Government's Covid-19 testing programme.

No date for when it will start operations has been revealed but it is likely to be within the next week as testing is ramped up as part of plans to ease the current lockdown.

It will be the first Covid-19 testing site of its kind in East Lothian, where an assessment centre has also been operating in Musselburgh since the start of April.

The site, which was bought by the local authority from ScottishPower and is currently being marketed for economic investment, was offered up as a potential testing location by the council.

The unit will be managed and staffed by military personnel, who would be responsible for its safe operation.

Military staff will make appropriate use of PPE and no equipment will be left on site whilst the facility is closed.

The council said it expects the facility to operate as a self-contained, drive-through facility. People will remain in their vehicle whilst being tested.  Initially, it is understood it would operate over two, three-day periods.

Tom Reid, the council's head of infrastructure, said: “We were asked to identify a potentially suitable site for a drive-through, mobile testing facility to be located.

"The former Cockenzie Power Station site was identified as a site which could be operated safely by military personnel.

"This facility would enable key workers who are self-isolating due to them or household members displaying symptoms to undergo testing, which is a vital component of the national response to tackling Covid-19.

"East Lothian Council will continue to play its part and work with partners locally and nationally in dealing with the challenges posed by the emergency.”

The facility will provide tests for key workers who are self-isolating due to them or household members displaying symptoms.

It is understood key workers and their family members will be eligible for testing.

Key workers who are, or have a family member who is, symptomatic, can sign up via the https://self-referral.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/ portal.

Cockenzie power station's famous twin chimneys were demolished in a controlled explosion in September, 2015, two years after it had closed. The power station had opened in 1967.