Plans to build a massive 20m-high space radar station in Pembrokeshire will be decided by Welsh government ministers. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) wants to build 27 radar dishes at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, and fewer than a dozen planning applications, out of about 25,000 in Wales, are called in each year.
The dishes, standing at 66ft (20m) high and 49ft (15m) wide, would form part of a trilateral AUKUS security partnership with the US and Australian governments. The call-in process means ministers, rather than a council, make the final decision.
Why has the application been called in?
The Welsh government can step in if a planning application "raises issues of more than local importance". Its website, external said any person could make a request to call in a planning or related application for consideration but it "does not mean it will be refused".
"The power to call in is used very infrequently and only when a proposal raises issues of more than local importance," it said.
What do campaigners say?
Campaigners People Against Radar Campaign (PARC) - which claimed the project could allow US President Donald Trump to dominate space from Wales - welcomed the move.
The UK government previously said the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) was vital to track objects in deep space and protect satellite and communication and navigation networks. But PARC said it was "being developed for the US Space Force which was created under Donald Trump at a time when US military spending has doubled since he took office".
"That is why DARC has been described as a significant escalation in the militarisation of space," it said.
The Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government declined to comment on calling in the application.
The decision now rests with Welsh government ministers, who will determine whether the MoD's plans for the radar station at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy can go ahead.
The application has drawn attention because of the scale of the proposed installation and its link to the AUKUS partnership involving the UK, US and Australia. The call-in means the proposal will be assessed at national level rather than by the local council.
Under the planning system in Wales, call-ins are rare, with fewer than a dozen of about 25,000 planning applications reviewed by ministers each year. The Welsh government said the power is reserved for proposals of more than local importance, and noted that a request for call-in does not automatically mean refusal.
What happens next?
Welsh government ministers will now consider the proposal and decide whether it should be approved or rejected. The Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government declined to comment on calling in the application, and no timetable for the final decision was given in the original report.
The MoD's proposal remains for 27 radar dishes at Cawdor Barracks, each 66ft (20m) high and 49ft (15m) wide, as part of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC). The project is intended, according to the UK government, to track objects in deep space and protect satellite and communication and navigation networks.
Key Facts
- Welsh government ministers will decide the planning application for a space radar station at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, Pembrokeshire.
- The MoD wants to build 27 radar dishes, each 66ft (20m) high and 49ft (15m) wide.
- The project is part of the trilateral AUKUS security partnership with the US and Australian governments.
- Fewer than a dozen of about 25,000 planning applications in Wales are called in each year.
- Campaign group PARC welcomed the call-in and raised concerns about the militarisation of space.
