Unanimous support at Plaid Cymru conference for Pembrokeshire campaign against DARC radar proposal

A significant show of support by Plaid Cymru for a local campaign against the proposed MoD military radar array ‘DARC’ in West Pembrokeshire took place today as the party’s Cardiff conference voted to approve a motion committing to action against the proposal.

The PARC campaign calls the vote a ‘hugely significant moment,’ suggesting it follows months of silence from Welsh Labour and refusals to engage with or meet local residents over the issue.

A campaign growing by the week

A spokesperson from the PARC campaign tells us that ‘Plaid Cymru’s decision to back our motion against DARC radar is a hugely significant moment. The calls for meetings with or even any responses from Welsh Labour, let alone action on DARC, have been going completely unanswered since the start of the campaign in Dewisland. Today sends the first clear message that if Labour keeps remaining silent to the calls of over 16,000 people who have signed our local petition, political pressure can and will be escalating this issue into something that is going to have significance county-wide in Pembrokeshire.’ 'Now the campaign has the support of both Plaid Cymru and Wales Green Party as official party policy, with the Lib Dems under pressure to come out against DARC too. We expect this to be a pivotal issue in the Senedd elections in 2026 and with the increase in Members of the Senedd going up to 96 MS's as well as the move to proportional representation across the board which could result in a Plaid Cymru, Green & Lib Dem coalition Government in 2026 this could well force Welsh Labour to completely rethink their position on DARC or risk facing massive losses at the ballot box.'

‘Labour’s near-silence on the issue after the past few months is clearly evasive and unacceptable given the gravity of local opposition here,’ continued the PARC spokesperson. ‘The campaign against DARC has support across the political spectrum in the Dewisland area and increasingly across Pembrokeshire. While we intend to challenge the proposal by every planning and legal means necessary, there is a clear history in our county of the capacity of issues about which there is significant local feeling to create measurable political pressure. Today marks a step-up in that pressure and something we intend to bring further into the Senedd.’

A backdrop of rising public temperature

PARC say that the last few months have been an intense ride, with the campaign going from strength to strength very quickly. ‘Our initial launch saw one of the biggest public meetings we’ve ever seen in Solva with the Memorial Hall; it was packed to the rafters. You simply couldn’t move in there.’

‘What followed was an appearance by the MOD in public engagement events that were obviously a direct response to our campaign’s growth. But with protests against these meetings that made national news, an encampment outside Cawdor Barracks, and a mobilisation of locals in sending dozens of critical consultation feedback forms followed by rounds of media that widely criticised the MOD’s consultation as “shambolic,” the pressure is firmly on the MOD to answer the countless urgent questions it’s been refusing and failing to. Labour also needs to very seriously heed the public’s calls to reconsider Brawdy as a proposed DARC site, and it needs to show vastly better stewardship of our local area and our wishes.’

A campaign that has always been a broad church

PARC, founded originally in 1990 to campaign successfully to scrap a similar large-scale MOD radar station close to Cawdor Barracks, claims to have been a political broad church since its founding.

‘We’re serious about being a campaign that invites support from everyone who is concerned about the impacts of DARC on our landscape, tourism economy, health and our global security,’ say PARC.

‘With our newly established research group now working to expose DARC for the disaster it would be for our environment, local economy and jobs, we are more than willing to reach out to all political parties, including Welsh Labour, and engage them in a discussion on how we as a country can find a sensible way out of accepting a proposal that we believe would result in huge damage to our local area, as well as making Wales a high-priority military target in a way our local infrastructure is ill-prepared for.’

‘Creating political pressure may be effective, but we believe there are many better ways for the change of course that local residents are demanding, for all parties involved. We intend to fight tooth and nail, for the long haul and in every conceivable way, to ensure that our local community’s voice is rightfully heard. We invite people to sign our petition, email elected representatives and learn more on our website, www.parcagainstdarc.com.’