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PEMBROKESHIRE: Planning application lodged for 27 giant radar dishes at Brawdy as campaigners say Morgan’s intervention doesn’t go far enough

A planning application for the controversial Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability installation at Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire has been formally submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, as the project becomes one of the most politically charged issues of the Senedd election campaign.

The Ministry of Defence lodged the application on 23 March, following a statutory pre-application consultation period that ran from 23 February to 22 March 2026. Pembrokeshire County Council will now determine whether to grant planning permission for the scheme, which would see 27 radar dishes — each approximately 15 metres in diameter and 21 metres tall — installed at the former RAF Brawdy site.

The planning application arrived just weeks after First Minister Eluned Morgan sparked headlines by calling for the UK to halt its involvement in DARC, citing Donald Trump’s conduct and questioning whether the US remained a reliable partner. Morgan, who is also Welsh Labour’s lead Senedd candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency where the site is located, stopped short of opposing the project outright — calling only for a pause while Trump remains in office.

Two dishes visible over rooftops and hedges from the village street. Gives a sense of how they’d look from a residential area.
Image: Ministry of Defence pre-application consultation report, March 2026

Anti-radar campaign group PARC Against DARC — Pembrokeshire Against Radar Campaign — responded on Thursday, welcoming Morgan’s intervention but saying her position fell far short of what was needed to stop the scheme.

A spokesperson for the campaign said the issue was “clearly in the minds of voters for the upcoming Senedd election” and may have been “reported back to Morgan from the doorsteps.” The campaigners said they feared Morgan could simply reverse her position if re-elected, and argued that calling for a pause was a far weaker stance than the outright opposition the project deserved.

Their response came with sharp words for Henry Tufnell, the Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, who broke ranks with Morgan to defend the scheme and cited jobs for the local area as a key factor in his support.

The campaign said it was “absolutely unbelievable how out of touch Henry Tufnell is on the whole DARC debate,” and claimed the MOD’s Environmental Impact Assessment showed that direct local employment from the scheme would amount to a maximum of 20 permanent roles, with the remainder of the operational staff made up of US personnel.

However, the MOD’s own public consultation materials, distributed to around 2,390 households in the area in August 2024, stated that the scheme would bring a permanent presence of up to 100 UK military and civilian personnel to the site, along with up to 120 short-term construction jobs. The campaign disputes those figures, arguing the full EIA tells a different story about the proportion of roles that would go to local people.

Swansea Bay News has not independently verified the campaign’s interpretation of the EIA, and the MOD has not responded to their characterisation of the jobs figures.

The campaign also alleged that the public consultation on the scheme had not been properly publicised to local residents. However, documents from the MOD’s pre-application consultation report — submitted as part of the planning application — show that community newsletters were posted to 2,390 households via Royal Mail in August 2024, and that two public drop-in events held in Solva and St Davids in September 2024 drew more than 420 attendees, with 305 feedback forms returned. A further newsletter was distributed to an extended area when the statutory consultation opened in February 2026.

An MOD photomontage showing how the DARC radar array would appear from Trefgarn Owen. Image: Ministry of Defence pre-application consultation report, March 2026

The MOD’s consultation documents also include photomontages showing what the radar array would look like from locations around the site. Seen from the local road to Brawdy, several dishes are clearly visible above the hedgerow. From Trefgarn Owen to the north, the full array of dishes appears strung across the open skyline. From Penycwm village, dishes are visible above the rooftops.

The campaign alleged that the MOD’s EIA had confirmed the visual impact of the scheme would be adverse from the majority of assessed viewpoints, and substantially adverse from at least a fifth of them. Swansea Bay News has not independently reviewed the full EIA.

PARC Against DARC said it believed deep divisions had now opened within the Labour Party over the issue, and that Morgan’s intervention was a sign she was aware of the political risks heading into the May 7 election. However, the campaign also acknowledged what it described as Morgan’s bravery in publicly criticising Trump, noting his track record of targeting critics.

Both Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party have opposed DARC since the project was announced. A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said Morgan’s intervention was “nothing but a last-ditch attempt to cling on to her seat,” pointing out that the party had consistently called on the UK Government to prioritise rebuilding European ties in response to Trump’s foreign policy positions.

Plaid passed a motion formally opposing DARC at its annual conference in October 2024 and tabled a parliamentary motion in Westminster in March 2025. A Statement of Opinion tabled in the Senedd in January 2025 by Plaid MS Cefin Campbell attracted signatures from 15 members of the Welsh Parliament, including several Labour MSs — among them Cardiff North MS Julie Morgan, Swansea East MS Mike Hedges and Aberavon MS David Rees. The motion called on the Welsh Government to commission an authoritative independent impact assessment of the DARC scheme.

Wales Green Party leader Zak Polanski welcomed Morgan’s comments, writing on X that standing up to the US “must mean more than words,” and calling for closer ties with EU neighbours.

Downing Street has not changed its position. A spokesperson said this week that the DARC programme “will secure long-term jobs in Pembrokeshire and Wales, and help protect essential satellite communication.”

The Ceredigion Penfro constituency, which covers the Brawdy area, is expected to be among the more competitive seats on 7 May, with Plaid Cymru fielding a strong candidate against Morgan.

PARC Against DARC is urging people to vote for parties opposed to the project at the Senedd election. More information, including the campaign’s consultation response and lobbying resources, is available at parcagainstdarc.com.

As Swansea Bay News reported yesterday, the DARC programme is designed to detect and track objects in deep space up to 36,000km from Earth, forming part of a three-nation network alongside installations in the US and Australia.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Welsh first minister calls for halt to Pembrokeshire space radar project over Trump’s “contempt for our country”
Eluned Morgan said the US under Trump was no longer the reliable partner it once was.

Pembrokeshire barracks named as preferred site for new deep space radar
Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy was confirmed as the UK’s preferred location for the DARC installation in 2023.

#Brawdy #CawdorBarracks #DARC #ElunedMorganMS #HenryTufnellMP #PARCAgainstDARC #PembrokeshireCountyCouncil #SeneddElection2026