The Ministry of Defence has proposed constructing a space radar station at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, Pembrokeshire, featuring 27 radar dishes each measuring 20 meters high and 15 meters wide. The facility would be part of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) initiative, developed through a trilateral security partnership involving the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
The UK government has characterized the project as essential for tracking objects in deep space and protecting satellite, communication, and navigation networks. However, the proposal has drawn opposition from campaign groups including People Against Radar Campaign (PARC), which has characterized the development as part of a broader militarization of space and raised concerns about the involvement of US military interests.
Due to the project’s potential significance beyond local considerations, the application will be determined by Welsh government ministers rather than proceeding through standard local council planning procedures. This process, known as calling in an application, is rarely invoked and applied to fewer than a dozen of approximately 25,000 planning applications submitted annually throughout Wales. The Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government has not yet indicated whether it intends to call in the application for ministerial review, though officials noted that such a designation does not predetermine the outcome of the decision.
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