Demolition work to start at old coal store site, Cockenzie

During this time, local residents may be affected by the inevitable noise created by the demolition of these concrete structures, but strict time limits and mitigations will be in place, avoiding early morning starts.

Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council Spokesperson for Economic Development, said: “It is a real achievement that this huge project to prepare the site for future employment use is running on schedule and we appreciate the understanding and patience of the local community. We have been keeping the neighbouring community councils informed every step of the way and Balfour Beatty has issued regular newsletters to those living alongside the site, as well as keeping a wonderful photographic record as the work progresses. It’s been really interesting to see these structures emerge, that have been hidden from view for a number of years, revealing a huge part of East Lothian’s industrial history.”

There are three main structures on the old coal store site (over the road from where the power station was and next to the B6371 ‘coal road’) that will be demolished during the works:

• the former rail bridge (road traffic went underneath to access the interior of the coal store)
• the supporting concrete wall where the wagon discharge building sat (coal was emptied out of rail wagons here)
• the coal conveyor structures that were buried within the northeastern bund. These have recently become visible as the material from the bund has been removed

The demolition of these concrete structures will be carried out by Rhodar, sub contracted to Balfour Beatty, who manage the enabling works. Work will begin on the south of the site, working north.

The structures closest to the north will be demolished from August onwards, when the daily noise may be more noticeable to residents of Alder Road.

While work is permitted on site from 7am, it has been agreed with the contractor that no demolition machinery will start until 8am to reduce the impact of noise. The latest finish time is 6pm and there will be no planned weekend working. 

Dust and noise monitoring will be carried out on a daily basis and there will be regular dampening down of demolition works to minimise the spread of dust. No roadworks or traffic management is necessary for the demolition.

The whole project is still scheduled for a December 2025 completion, including the construction of the link road, which will link the Alder Road junction on the B6371 approach to Cockenzie with the existing B1348 road. Much of the route will follow an existing service road to the former coal plant and be complemented by a lane, largely set back from the main roadway, to encourage safe walking and cycling. Work has started on utilities diversions at the Alder Road roundabout.

The wider Cockenzie enabling works is to prepare the brownfield site for future economic development. The first phase started in September 2024 and was completed in March this year, a month ahead of schedule. It involved the transferring of 175,000 cubic metres of earth (the equivalent of 1,750 double decker buses) from the bunds surrounding the former coal store, across the Edinburgh Road to infill the void in the power station site.

Phase Two includes the construction of the new link road while the concrete demolition works about to start is Phase Three. The enabling works are 90% funded by UK Government and 10% by East Lothian Council, with the link road 100% funded by East Lothian Council.