22/10/2025
THE 360 CENTRE: THE END OF THE ROAD?
We’re sure that a wise Soul somewhere, at some point, said something along the lines of ‘if the way forward isn’t clear, pause— take a minute to remember your destination and what you hope to achieve’ . . . 360 is doing exactly that. We’re unsure whether we’re at a crossroads or whether we’ve taken 360 as far as it can go—so we’re taking time to reflect.
At the heart of our recent contemplations is ‘collaboration’. Our 2021 Vision includes a section ‘Collaboration: the importance of partnerships’. A critical partnership for 360 is with East Lothian Council—as landowner / custodian of the Cockenzie Site, we cannot achieve the 360 Vision without their support. We have worked tirelessly over the past years to get ELC on board . . . with very limited success.
So, with our elected officials unwilling / unable / reluctant to engage, it seems that 360 may have reached the end of the road.
Following the suggestion of the wise Soul over the next few weeks, we plan to pause and reflect on the 360 Vision and what we hoped to achieve and intend to meet in early November to decide whether there is a way forward for 360 Climate Change Centre on the Cockenzie site or whether it’s time to wind up the 360 Company.
Attached are slides of a presentation we prepared in the hope of meeting with ELC ‘Phases in the evolution of the 360 Centre: Building a Hub for Community, Sustainability and Innovation’.
(could you please find a way to include ‘A green corridor connecting Greenhills with Cockenzie Harbour . . . an accessible & enhanced John Muir Way’)
PHASE 1 - Creating a Community Hub’ has the Cockenzie site’s Community neighbours at heart. In setting the foundations for the 360 Climate Change Centre, Phase 1 collects the wishes from community workshops, community engagement and community collaboration - and delivers the desire for green space after decades of industrial brownfield. It puts Communities first, preserving historical links, paying homage to history and heritage.
It reflects on our past & enriches our future through much needed space to breathe and be, to look and see, to listen and hear—enhancing mental health & well-being. In short, Phase 1 makes the unremarkable, remarkable. It gives back to communities that have given so much, received so little and deserve their elected officials to step up on their behalf.
Or at least to engage.
Collaboration with Communities has excelled where it has failed with East Lothian Council.
At the heart of the 360 Vision is Community . . . Local, County, Country and Global . . . Scotland’s Golf Coast, John Muir Way, Cycle Route 76, Seton Sands & Drummhor Parks—all threads through the Cockenzie site, bringing visitors from far & wide to the ‘go-to’ public place to engage in science, art & nature at Cockenzie.
PHASE 2 - Establishing a Destination for Innovation and Heritage’ takes the Cockenzie site’s coal-based industrial past into the green age of renewables and acknowledges the global need to do all we can to address climate change.
Through collaborative partnering with academia and business, 360’s Phase 2 turns a sliver of the gigantic Cockenzie site into a campus ready to train the workforce of tomorrow in the skills required to service the energy and construction sectors. This positive partnering also brings the opportunity to educate and inform on climate change and to find measures to mitigate and adapt by individuals and communities.
The Cockenzie site becomes the destination for educators and employers in industry and innovation; and the go-to place for those looking to be informed on our industrial past, the heritage of the area and climate change in a visionary and creative way.
Now 5 years on from the initial positive engagements with academia (a key driver in the creation of the 2021 Vision document), the need for a visible and tangible partnership with East Lothian Council (ELC) —as landowner / custodian of the Cockenzie site—is critical. Try as we might and with the exception of positive engagements with a small number of ELC Officers, concrete engagement with ELC is non-existent.
At a known cost of £11m+ (Levelling up Funds) ELC’s aim is to create 550 jobs on the Cockenzie site — reflecting the employment opportunities at the old Power Station.
We believe that the 360 Climate Change Centre could contribute significantly towards that number in direct employment opportunities, in continuous training of a workforce for the future and could contribute significantly towards bringing pride and an end to historic social deprivation in the surrounding communities.
At the heart of 360 is Community—introduced to Innovation & Enterprise in Phase 2.
PHASE 3 - Developing Sustainable Infrastructure and Accommodation’ . .
Phase 3 acknowledges that the vibrant and thriving destination 360 Cockenzie created in the earlier phases of the project, can be further enhanced by the addition of spaces to complement studying students and where visitors can linger longer. Imagine . . . . visiting to learn about adapting to climate change, the transition from coal to renewables and to view the most recent of the ever-changing exhibitions, then moving on through an innovative eco-designed building - which is worth a visit in itself - to admire the breathtaking 360 Earth Tapestry in the John Bellany Gallery . . . displaying Bellany masterpieces alongside Hillhouse and other contemporary artists. There are spaces for crafters to craft and pop-ups to sell their creations with a café offering locally sourced produce, encouraging time spent having lunch, relaxing in nature and enjoying the panoramic 360 view across the Forth and beyond.
Accommodation pods offer eco-living for visiting lecturers / speakers or others wishing to stay to enjoy all that’s on offer at destination 360 Cockenzie.
Phase 3 sees 360 continuing to evolve; to provide a vital green corridor between communities and a bridge between our industrial past and our green future.
Community was always at the heart of the 360 Vision. The desire to achieve the 360 Climate Change Centre and support for the opportunities it can bring is evident from the community engagement over the past 5 years.
As stated in 2021 at the outset of our 360 journey collaboration remains fundamental. Five years on from the initial positive engagement with academia (a key driver in the creation of the 2021 Vision document), the need for a tangible sustainable partnership with East Lothian Council (ELC) —as landowner / custodian of the Cockenzie site—is critical to moving on from the vision. Despite repeated efforts and many different approaches - we have failed to enthuse or engage with ELC (with the exception of a small number of officers).
We believe that the small sliver of land 360 Centre would occupy on the Cockenzie site would be an invaluable green, (in so many senses of the word), corridor on the coastline - becoming a destination on the John Muir pathway as it winds its way from Siccar Point in the East across Scotland and passed the Kelpies into the West. It’s not difficult to imagine how such a unique place would regenerate the site and communities alike.
We believe that 360 would:
* create job opportunities that could contribute towards reducing historical pockets of social deprivation;
* offer opportunities to educate and inform on climate change and training in the skills needed by the growing green energy and construction sectors;
* provide a nature-rich environment to visitors to Scotland’s Golf coast with iconic art installations an link up with other visitor attractions in the area;
* generate income for communities and County.
But . . .
. . we need to have a landowner / custodian with equal Vision and a willingness to engage. Without that, it is impossible to take the Vision for a 360 Climate Change Centre beyond a vision.
