PLANS for a small gas-fired power plant to be built across the road from the former Cockenzie Power Station site have been withdrawn.

A planning application for the site was lodged with East Lothian Council at the end of August by Lark Gas Assets, based in Lincolnshire.

They wanted to build the plant on the former gas-holder site, which lies next to the electricity substation and in front of the former power station’s coal plant.

Formerly used for gas storage, the 0.44-hectare piece of land, which is owned by SGN, would have been turned into a fortress with two-metre-high fencing and state of-the-art CCTV cameras equipped with speakers operated remotely by the company.

In its application for planning permission, Lark Gas said it picked the site because of its proximity to a National Grid connection and the fact it was part of a “wider industrial area”.

The site is not included in the draft Cockenzie Masterplan as it is not part of the land which East Lothian Council is expected to purchase from ScottishPower, but it lies within zone two of the plan, which refers to land which is proposed as its energy quarter – an area which is envisioned to house a range of energy production buildings.

The council has been confirmed as the preferred bidder for the land at the former power station.

ScottishPower had planned, some years ago, to build a large, gas-fired power station to replace Cockenzie Power Station but those proposals have since been scrapped.