There has been a major news development in the Upton Cressett turbine application. The Ministry of Defence have formally objected on radar interference grounds. The letter (also posted on Shropshire Council planning portal) is published in full below.
The reason is because of interference to military radar at Clee Hill. Sending radar to RAF Shawbury near Shewsbury, Clee Hill is one of the most important radar stations in the county. Whoever sited the turbines must have been aware of the potential problems as the turbine site is set on a ridge on the Jack Mytton Way located on the top of a very high hill known as Meadowley.
The proposed 80m high turbines will send out a ‘ghost image’ on the military radar that will look as if they are aircraft or other unknown objects and this can be very dangerous as well as a threat to national security. Changing the blade height down to say sixty metres is unlikely to make any difference to the MOD position as the proposed site – straddling the Jack Mytton Way, the county’s flagship tourist trail – is so exposed and high up on a steep ridge anyway. Meadowley bank is steep it is used for cycling trials for the Tour de France English team. A 50 tonne farm lorry delivering grain upturned its load last year whilst attempting to climb the notoriously steep hill.
The controversial application has also now been opposed by the Bridgnorth and District Tourist Association whose chairman Anthony Webb has also highlighted military radar concerns in his letter to Shropshire Council even before the official rejection of the application by the MOD. Mr Webb owns and runs the award winning Quarry Cottage Bed and Breakfast near Much Wenlock.
‘Our members are aware of low flying military aircraft and helicopters flying above Criddon, Meadowley and Upton Cressett and the Bridgnorth Hills. The Corvedale is an extensive helicopter training area from RAF Shawbury to a beacon near Ludlow. That the MOD have now formally Objected is in line with the fact that the turbine proposals pose an inherent threat of a risk of collision with such a height of turbine. The smallest risk of that happening in the Bridgnorth Hills is such that the MOD are surely right and acting responsibly by rejecting the turbines’.
Adrian Snook, a leading expert on civil and military aviation, who has acted as an expert witness in several public enquiries dealing with wind turbines and radar issues emailed me to say: ‘This news is likely to be a showstopper for the wind developer Share Energy. The MOD takes a much tougher policy line than NATS or civilian airports on military radar and interference from turbines because they are actively looking for things that should not be there, as well as things they are actively tracking. Also, any mitigation measures are likely to be more expensive because these need to be more sophisticated and more secure from potential enemy threat than would be the case for civilian purposes’.
NOTE: WE HAVE NOW (MAY 30TH) JUST LEARNT THAT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE HAVE NOW APPRENTLY DOWN A VOLTE FACE AND ARE NOW WITHDRAWING THEIR FORMAL OBJECTION. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY AT THIS STAGE AND ARE ASKING OUR LOCAL MP PHILIP DUNNE TO SEE IF HE CAN HELP CLARIFY THE SITUATION. ANOTHER BLOG IN THEENAR FUTURE WILL HOPEFULLY SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.
MOD letter from Debi Parker, in full:
I am writing to inform you that the MOD objects to the proposal. Our assessment has been carried out on the basis that there will be 2 turbines, 77.00 metres in height from ground level to blade tip and located at the grid references below as stated in the planning application or provided by the developer:
Air Traffic Control (ATC)
The turbines will be32.374 km from, detectable by, and will cause unacceptable interference to the ATC radar at RAF Shawbury.
Wind turbines have been shown to have detrimental effects on the performance of MOD ATC and Range Control radars. These effects include the desensitisation of radar in the vicinity of the turbines, and the creation of “false” aircraft returns which air traffic controllers must treat as real. The desensitisation of radar could result in aircraft not being detected by the radar and therefore not presented to air traffic controllers. Controllers use the radar to separate and sequence both military and civilian aircraft, and in busy uncontrolled airspace radar is the only sure
|
Turbine |
100km Square letter | Easting |
Northing |
|
1 |
SO | 67340 |
91990 |
| 2 | SO | 67110 |
91750 |
way to do this safely. Maintaining situational awareness of all aircraft movements within the airspace is crucial to achieving a safe and efficient air traffic service, and the integrity of radar data is central to this process. The creation of “false” aircraft displayed on the radar leads to increased workload for both controllers and aircrews, and may have a significant operational impact. Furthermore, real aircraft returns can be obscured by the turbine’s radar returns, making the tracking of conflicting unknown aircraft (the controllers’ own traffic) much more difficult.
If the developer is able to overcome the issues stated above, the MOD will request that both turbines be fitted with 25 candela omni-directional red lighting or infrared lighting with an optimised flash pattern of 60 flashes per minute of 200ms to 500ms duration at the highest practicable point.
MOD Safeguarding wishes to be consulted and notified about the progress of planning applications and submissions relating to this proposal to verify that it will not adversely affect defence interests.
I hope this adequately explains our position on the matter. Further information about the effects of wind turbines on MOD interests can be obtained from the following website MOD: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/WhatWeDo/Operations/ModSafeguarding.htm