Daresbury International Science and Technology Park gets boost towards world-class status
charlotte thorley
Local centre of excellence for science and development receives double funding as the NWDA recognizes the site??s potential.
Daresbury Laboratory has had a rollercoaster ride in its fortune over the last few years. When the government decided to build its new ??550 million synchrotron in Oxfordshire instead of Daresbury, there were worries that the site might close.
Recently there has been a turn-around, with support coming in from the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster, the local borough council and the North West Development Agency (NWDA). Aside from being the UK??s first synchrotron, the laboratory now houses Europe??s most powerful academic research computer and the world??s most powerful microscope.
This has prompted the NWDA to double its original funding plans for the site. Companies at the site will have access to the facilities in the Laboratory. The Cockcroft Institute, housing the National Centre for Accelerator Science, is being built there too. Eleven start-up firms have opened already, creating 1500 jobs, and there are hopes for many more to come.
The site will play a leading role in developing international scientific and medical research programmes.
Submitted by: charlotte thorley, 11 August 2005
