Geographical guidance available for download

The assessment of the impact of wind turbines on the electronic infrastructure required to operate an air traffic service is complex and dependent on a wide range of factors- many of them statistical rather than fixed in nature. When NERL carry out an assessment as to the potential impact of proposed developments this is done using the latest understanding of industry best practise and a range of in-depth analysis tools are employed.

It is not possible to replicate this process in a simple diagrammatic format however the following maps have been designed as an aid to developers in understanding where interference with NERL infrastructure is likely.  They do not represent an exhaustive list of the areas where there is a potential impact to NERL’s infrastructure nor do they represent no-go areas where NERL will automatically object to proposed wind turbines.

For each of the 54 air-ground-air (AGA) communication stations, 55 navigation aids and 20 secondary surveillance radar operated by NERL a consultation zone has been provided; 10km for the air-ground-air communication stations and navigation aids and, in line with CAA publication CAP764, 15 nautical miles (nm) for the secondary surveillance radar.  Upon receiving a turbine planning application these are the ranges within which NERL would carry out an in-depth assessment for equipment of these types.

CAP764 Appendix 7 details a method “to assist in determining whether a further more detailed assessment needs to be carried out” in relation to primary surveillance radars based on radar line-of-sight.  To aid developers with this task 10 maps have been produced corresponding to turbines with tip heights from 20 to 200m describing the areas where turbines of the relevant height would be within line-of-sight of at least 1 of the 19 primary surveillance radar operated by NERL.  Please note that the earth’s radius was extended by 4/3 during the generation of these maps to take into account simple ‘over the horizon’ effects as discussed in section 5 of the appendix, no attempt however was made to take into account the detailed diffraction geometry of any specific locations.

Downloads

The 13 maps are available to download as detailed 'zipped' jpeg diagrams overlaid on a map of the United Kingdom and National Grid 20km squares. Due to the large file sizes, the images may take up to a few minutes to download. Please be aware that all images including maps and ESRI shape files are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced or altered in any way without prior permission from NATS.

• AGA (3.9 MB)
• Nav Aid (4.02 MB)
• SSR (4.02 MB)
• 20m PSR (6.01 MB)
• 40m PSR (6.03 MB)
• 60m PSR (6.02 MB)
• 80m PSR (5.99 MB)
• 100m PSR (5.94 MB)
• 120m PSR (5.92 MB)
• 140m PSR (5.84 MB)
• 160m PSR (5.80 MB)
• 180m PSR (5.75 MB)
• 200m PSR (5.72 MB)

The same information is available as a set of ESRI shape files compatible with most Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

• Download OSGB Grid Ref ESRI Shapefiles (Zipped file 4.50 MB)
• Download WGS84 Decimal Degree ESRI Shapefiles (Zipped file 12.85 MB)

The above maps are provided for guidance only and do not affect the consultation requirements for formal planning applications set out in The Town and Country Planning (Safeguarded Aerodromes, Technical Sites and Military Explosive Storage Areas) Direction 2002, they are provided without prejudice and shall not affect NERL´s statutory right to object to any formal planning application in respect of any proposed development. NERL accepts no liability for any costs, expenses or damages of any nature whatsoever incurred by any reliance on the above maps.