More on Old Buckenham weather radar

Details given at June parish council meeting
Jim Trice from the Met Office attended the meeting regarding the building of a new weather radar in the village. This is a summary of his presentation.
The proposed location is part of the Anglian Water site on Abbey Road. It is a brownfield site that will need clearing before the radar could be built. The area required is approximately 20 metres by 10 metres and would consist of a tower and a cabin for housing the transmitter and communications equipment.
The site was chosen out of 15 initial possibilities. A shortlist was created by comparing cost, radar coverage and project risks. Old Buckenham was chosen due to best coverage all the way to the coast and was at a higher elevation above sea level than some of the other sites.
The radar tower would be 22 metres tall and the radome 5 metres in diameter. In the dome is a rotating dish which transmits a pulse of energy and detects the interaction with precipitation. Towers are normally located at the top of hills but due to the flat topography of the area, a taller tower is required to ensure the radar is above most landforms and trees (including future growth).
The radar is needed because of limited coverage and accuracy of the rainfall intensity in East Anglia and will help improve weather forecasting, warnings of flooding and improved forecasts of snowfall. Additionally, it will improve forecasting for a much wider area and provide Anglian Water with data for more efficient use of water resources and sewerage systems.
As announced in a previous post on this blog (Wednesday 6 June) a 'drop-in' event is planned for the local public on Friday 28 June from 2pm to 8pm at the Village Hall. Poster boards will help illustrate the scale of tower. A leaflet drop is being organised to advertise the event.
Comments from those at the parish council meeting were that New Buckenham and Carlton Rode would need to be contacted as it is close to the parish borders and will be visible to them. When asked about the Airfield’s views, Jim Trice explained that while they did not have a problem with the frequency involved with the radar, they did have an issue with the height and had also requested that a light be located at the top of the structure.
There would be no additional benefit to the village as it would require specialist contractors to build and operate. The parish council chairman said that there should not be any construction traffic through the village and down Abbey Road.
When asked about any possible noise or health risks, Jim Trice said that there are strict guidelines about what noise levels are acceptable and they are confident that they would stay within those limits as the radar rotates quite slowly. Public Health England had monitored a similar weather radar at Ingham and published a report showing that there were no health risks.
A parishioner asked how the radar would improve the use of water resources and sewerage systems. It was explained that Anglian Water would be able to use the data collected to have more accurate estimates of rainfall and therefore adjust the systems accordingly.
A planning application should be submitted in the next couple of months with the hope of starting work at the beginning of 2020. Construction should take about six months and the radar and its current technology are expected to last for around 20 to 25 years.