Landmark 'golf ball' to be moved at south Shropshire radar station under new plans
Plans to decommission and remove the 52ft radome on Titterstone Clee Hill have been revealed, along with plans to build a smaller replacement nearby.
A radar station has been sat on the top of Titterstone Clee Hill near Ludlow since the Second World War, having been installed in 1941.
Back then, it was manned by the RAF and continued to be until 1957. In 1964, the radar station was revived thanks to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Sometime in the 1970s, the radomes - the structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects the radar antenna underneath - were installed.
In the years since, the structures - which famously look like large golf balls - have become a south Shropshire landmark, making the hill instantly recognisable from miles around.
Today, they are part of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radar network monitoring civil and military aircraft in a 100-mile radius and the Met Office weather radar network.
The larger of the two radomes has a diameter of 16 metres, or around 52-and-a-half feet - and it's this one NATS want to dismantle.
Under the plans, the 20-metre-high radome platform will remain in place, along with the radar tower and existing equipment building.
Around 172 metres away, NATS proposes building a slightly smaller replacement radome atop existing infrastructure.
The new golfball-esque structure will have a 12.5 metre (41ft) diameter, sat atop a 10.2m structure - making the new one around six metres shorter in total than the existing.
The full plans, which have been submitted to Shropshire Council, are available to view online on the council's planning portal using reference number: 25/03150/CPL
