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Aviation

National Air Traffic Service

NATS En Route Plc safeguarding objectives

The Civil Aviation Authority is the UK regulator for aviation and is responsible to the Department of Trade and Industry for representing the aviation community in the UK.

NATS En Route Plc ("NERL") is responsible for the safe and expeditious movement in the en-route phase of flight for aircraft operating in controlled airspace in the UK. To undertake this responsibility NERL has a comprehensive infrastructure of radars, communication systems and navigational aids throughout the UK, all of which could be compromised by the establishment of a windfarm. In this respect NERL is responsible for safeguarding this infrastructure to ensure its integrity to provide the required services to Air Traffic Control (ATC).

NERL has no responsibility for safeguarding Airport technical facilities as this responsibility falls to each Airport Operator. However, NATS does provide a separate safeguarding consultancy services to some airports which is different, and should be differentiated from, the en-route safeguarding responsibilities.

Windfarm safeguarding

NERL has replaced its pre-planning consultation process with the following graphics and freely downloadable GIS files. The following seven images represent areas which will, or may affect NERL operation, depending on the blade tip height of the project. Click on the image to view a larger file or read on to download GIS files.

It is not feasible to generate images for all possible blade tip heights. A range of tip heights from 20 to 140 metres are believed to be representative of the heights of the majority of potential developments. For developments with heights other than those specified but in the region of 20–140m a certain amount of interpolation is possible between the images provided.

20m
 40m
 60m
80m
 100m
 120m
140m
    

These maps provide developers with information about areas where wind turbine developments maybe of concern to NATS En Route Plc ("NERL"). The presentation on this page is part of an advanced consultation process that the BWEA / DTI have advised wind farm developers to adopt, so that any major environmental (incl. aviation) issues are identified early and mitigation measures are in place prior to the formal planning stage.

On the maps above, blue areas are those where wind farm developments are likely to interfere with the operational infrastructure of NERL. Yellow areas are those where there remains a potential to interfere with this infrastructure.

The safeguarding maps are for indicative purposes only. This webpage information provides a non-binding indication. The NERL view presented by the safeguarding maps is given 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 safeguarding maps.

These 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.

The maps are based on the current safeguarding guidelines.

GIS Information

GIS (Geographical Information Systems) data compatible with ARC Explorer can be downloaded as a ZIP file below. The "Shp" folder contains the same maps and coloured zones in the shp format but in vector form. The "Basemap Plus.axl" file is an ArcExplorer project file that will load the seven heights and the UK map outline onto a single project. Before loading this file, the user should edit it (using notepad or a word editor) and amend the drive path lines according to the user´s file location. The British National Grid lines are overlaid on the maps as a 10 Km and 2 Km squares to assist interpretation.

Click here to download the zipped GIS data (6 MB)

NATS Consultation:

Indication of Probability of Interference: NERL can provide a non-binding indication of whether a development would be classed as ‘likely to interfere’ or ‘has the potential to interfere’ on a fixed fee per application basis.

Detailed Pre-Planning Consultation: NERL can also provide a comprehensive technical and operational assessment of your proposed development and will advise on any potential impact to NERL ATC operations also on a fixed fee per application basis.

Click here to access more information on these services and safeguarding contacts in NERL (50 kB)

Email: NATSSafeguarding@nats.co.uk