Jodrell Bank pledge provides fresh hope for Knockin dish

The Government is “exploring” the long-term options for the UK’s largest telescope – bringing hope to one of its ‘twin’ dishes in Shropshire.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted Jodrell Bank has a “secure future” and said he recently met representatives from the University of Manchester, which runs the project, in the hope of finding a solution.

The landmark dish in Cheshire is part of a network of telescopes known as e-Merlin that combine to carry out research in space.

One of the dishes in the e-Merlin group is based in Knockin, an established landmark in the Shropshire countryside which is operated remotely by scientists at Jodrell Bank.

In July this year, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) said Jodrell Bank will not be prioritised for further funding after its current agreement ends in March 2028. That announcement cast into doubt other telescopes in the e-Merlin network including Knockin.

But in September, Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged he would find a way to save the telescope.

The Lovell telescope, which has stood in Cheshire since 1957, is the world’s third largest steerable radio telescope. The instrument has a diameter of 76.2 metres.

Addressing the Commons on Thursday, Mr Reynolds said: “The Prime Minister and I have been clear that Jodrell Bank has a secure future.”

He said there has been a “science-based decision” to move from e-Merlin telescope to the Square Kilometre Array, an intergovernmental project headquartered at Jodrell Bank but largely built in Australia and South Africa. It is not known how that would impact on the dishes currently linked to Jodrell Bank, including Knockin.

Mr Reynolds was responding to Green MP Hannah Spencer, who said the closure of the e-Merlin telescope will put jobs at risk.

“Many of us went there on school trips as kids, and the Prime Minister assured us that his Government will find a funding solution,” the Gorton and Denton MP said.

“So will the Secretary of State explain how the Government intends to honour this heartfelt commitment and secure Jodrell Bank’s long-term future as an active sovereign scientific facility?”

Mr Reynolds said he recognised the strength of feeling, adding: “It’s important, given that we have a very significant R&D budget in the UK, that scientific decisions are made on the basis of the science.

“But that still doesn’t mean there isn’t a future for Jodrell Bank as an asset.

“That is consistent with making sure we’re making science-based decisions on the prioritisation of that funding.

“I met with the University of Manchester just a few days ago about this, and the local MPs of the area have been incredibly supportive in finding a solution. I hope to have more to say soon on that.”

Jodrell Bank had a pioneering role in the development of radio astronomy. Its work in tracking spacecraft in the early space race, and its research into quasars, pulsars and gravitational lenses, is also part of its outstanding scientific heritage.

The site has evidence of every stage of the history of radio astronomy, from its emergence as a new science in the 1940s through to the present day.