Met Éireann proposes 36m-high weather radar tower in Meath village
Ireland’s meteorological service, Met Éireann, has lodged plans for the construction of a 36-metre-high weather radar tower in Meath.
The proposed development for Longwood seeks planning permission from Meath County Council to build a “galvanised steel truss tower” topped with a radome and technical equipment room, with an equipment room at the base.
The tower, which measures 8 metres in diameter, will be situated on a hardcore platform.
The proposed radar forms part of a wider Irish Weather Network Modernisation Project and the location in Meath is one of the five strategic locations suitable for the development of a weather radar.
Access to the site will be via a new road off the existing forest haul road, which will be upgraded to a width of 3.8 metres where necessary.
The plans also include a solar photovoltaic (PV) array of 24 panels mounted on a fixed ground frame, along with boundary treatments to secure the radar and ancillary infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the development is said to incorporate all associated site works, services, and landscaping required to integrate the facility into its surroundings.
Met Éireann is also seeking planning permission for the installation radar stations in other regional locations in Cork, Kilkenny, Roscommon, Donegal.
According to the national forecaster, the proposed locations will form part of the larger weather radar network infrastructure that will serve the current and future needs of communities across Ireland, at a local and national level.