Two Labour councillors have confirmed that they will vote against the planned closure of Johnnie Cope’s Road if the public demonstrate their opposition to it.

A public consultation on the closure of the road, which connects Tranent and Prestonpans over the A1, took place earlier this year; East Lothian Council officials are now analysing the responses.

A report on the findings is expected in the coming weeks and councillors will use this to decide on a final outcome for the road.

Councillor Brooke Ritchie (Labour), Preston Seton Gosford member, spoke at Prestonpans Community Council’s April meeting when she confirmed her stance on the matter and that of party colleague Colin Yorkston, who was not at the meeting.

She said: “If the public want it [Johnnie Cope’s Road] to not close, we will not vote to close it.”

She stressed that there had been a lack of “brilliant communication” between officers and councillors, along with a lack of reports and evidence to justify the road’s closure.

But, their decision would be based on the findings of the public consultation and the subsequent report, she said.

Fellow ward councillor Lachlan Bruce, Conservative Group leader on East Lothian Council, had put forward a motion at the April meeting of the local authority to halt the process and allow more consideration to take place about the future of the road.

But at that meeting, his motion was delayed after Councillor Norman Hampshire (Lab), council leader, raised a successful procedural motion, asking for the matter to be put on hold until the council meets in June to allow officers to produce a full report on the closure plans.

DJ Johnston-Smith, chair of Prestonpans Community Council, quizzed Ms Ritchie on whether the community council would be able to see the finished report.

He stressed: “We want to see evidence.”

Ms Ritchie confirmed that the group would get it “as soon as it is available”.

Mr Johnston-Smith stressed that proper evidence needed to be supplied to justify the closure of the road, following communication the community council had received from the Scottish Government that clarified the safety and “load bearing” capacity of the bridge over the A1 that forms part of the road.

Council officials had previously claimed that the bridge – which is owned by Transport Scotland – was “not suitable, nor was it ever designed, to take the volume and type of traffic currently using it”.

However, this claim was disputed by Transport Scotland.

Mr Johnston-Smith added that if the road was to close using this safety justification, it would be “quite clear that it will end up in a public inquiry”.

That was something, he added, that the local authority could ill-afford given its current financial situation.

A final decision on the closure is expected at the June meeting of East Lothian Council, based on the information of the consultation and supporting reports.