Locals Want Cockenzie Closed

There's a carrot that is dangled in front of us every time a major investment is announced - jobs for the locals.

But what if the locals don't want the jobs? What if the locals have looked at the equation and decided that they'd rather have their health?

Well, if you're Scottish Power and you're in that situation then you start using the stick and talking about the lights going out.

They've used both approaches in East Lothian but after a public meeting about the future of Cockenzie power station it became clear that the locals simply don't want it on their skyline any more.

Scottish Power wanted to extend the life of the coal-fired plant beyond it's 2015 shut-down date. Then they proposed changing it to a Gas-fired power station, or installing Carbon Capture & Storage on it.

The locals, though, just want rid of it. As one councillor says:

"We are not convinced by their argument concerning emissions, the lack of electricity if it is closed down and the promise of further jobs for local people.

“Emissions and noise will continue to be a problem for the community, coupled with the fact that carbon capture is still really in its infancy.

“This area continues to have high instances of lung problems, and heart illness is higher than the national average. Something is causing this anomaly."

Of course the locals might not be heard when it comes to the choice of closing the dirtiest power station in Europe, but they seem to have decided that they'd rather have a higher quality of life than this behemoth in their midst.