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Find funding and save Jodrell Bank, stars say
More than 150 public figures, including astronaut Tim Peake, musicians Sir Brian May and Jarvis Cocker, and physicists Prof Jim Al-Khalili and Prof Brian Cox, have signed an open letter urging the government to reverse a "foolish" decision and urgently find funding to save Jodrell Bank Observatory. Around £2.8m has been withdrawn from the Cheshire site, leaving the University of Manchester needing to secure alternative funding by 2028, after which scientific observations would cease unless the money is found.
The UK Research and Innovation agency (UKRI), which cut the observatory's annual £2.8m budget amid rising research and lab costs, said it must prioritise projects delivering "the greatest long-term impact". Twenty-eight jobs at the site are at risk, and closure would also affect nearly 3,000 scientists who use the facility, a Unesco World Heritage Site dominated by the Lovell Telescope. The letter argues Jodrell Bank, headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory and host to 25,000 schoolchildren a year, delivers huge value for a modest investment, while Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he remains committed to sustaining the UK's world-leading research capabilities.
In short
- Over 150 celebrities urge government to save Jodrell Bank funding
- £2.8m cut leaves University of Manchester needing cash by 2028
- 28 jobs and work of 3,000 scientists at risk
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Jodrell Bank represents extraordinary value for modest investment—a world-leading facility serving thousands of research scientists and 25,000 pupils annually, housing the Square Kilometre Array Observatory headquarters, and sustaining UK scientific standing, all for £2.8m yearly. This relatively small outlay yields disproportionate scientific, educational and international returns, making the funding cut appear to represent poor stewardship and false economy in research spending.
The case against
UKRI must allocate finite budgets strategically across a portfolio of competing projects, and rising research costs necessitate difficult decisions about which investments deliver greatest long-term impact. Though Jodrell Bank is valuable and costs relatively modest, the governing question is whether that £2.8m generates more impact there than in alternative research directions, emerging priorities, or new facilities that UKRI judges more promising given systemic constraints.
Explained simply
Jodrell Bank is a radio astronomy observatory in Cheshire, best known for its large Lovell Telescope. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a centre for research into the universe; its staff also support the international Square Kilometre Array Observatory.
The site is run by the University of Manchester and receives public research funding through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Its facilities are used by scientists from many institutions, and it also hosts school visits. The funding question matters because the observatory’s future affects research, jobs and public education, as well as the UK’s role in international astronomy.
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