§ 41. Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on his proposal for the siting of proposed over-the-horizon radar transmitters on the former St. David's airfield in Pembrokeshire; and what progress has been made in his plans to inform and consult public opinion on the proposal.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkI recently visited St. David's, at the invitation of my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett), to inspect the site of the proposed installation, explain the background to our proposals to my hon. Friend's constituents, and hear their initial representations at first hand.
The next step will be for the Ministry of Defence to commission a full environmental impact assessment in respect of this proposed installation. This will support a formal notice of proposed development which we plan to submit to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority later this year. Once we have submitted the notice of proposed development, we intend to give full public presentations of our proposals. I also understand that the national park authority will undertake wide consultation and invite representations on the notice of proposed development from all interested parties.