4 hours ago
7
Throughout my long life, Jodrell Bank Observatory has been a source of wonder and pride (Jodrell Bank Observatory facing closure after major funder cuts support, 27 July). Sir Bernard Lovell’s inspirational creation never ceases to awe with its combination of cutting-edge space exploration and heroic engineering structure. A tour of its welcoming visitor centre with my grandchildren confirmed that this sense of awe is being passed on to future generations.
Yes, it would make another fine museum. But here in the north we have quite a few museums of our glorious industrial past. We have only one Jodrell Bank, probing the mysteries of the universe right now. So I’m afraid it is over to my fellow English graduate Andy Burnham to reverse the philistine decision of UK Research and Innovation, reminding him of his poetic hero Philip Larkin’s fear for the possible future of the UK: “Our children will not know it is a different country./ All we can hope to leave them now is money”.
Dr Ken Smith
Macclesfield, Cheshire
The one thing that Britain can still claim to be a top-division power in is science and technology. From numbers of Nobel laureates, to startups being funded then absorbed by global enterprises, and our universities and research establishments attracting the best minds from all over the world, the evidence is there. When trade delegations travel the world, the selling point is our science and technology. So it seems odd that there is a squeeze of government investment in this area of soft power.
One of the symbols of Britain’s scientific prowess is the big dish at Jodrell Bank. Generations in Britain and around the world have grown up seeing it as the backdrop to space travel and astronomical discoveries. Reducing its funding will draw attention to the reduced circumstances of Britain’s scientific endeavour and a lack of ambition to keep Britain as a world leader. If the government wants to quietly cut spending on scientific research, reducing Jodrell Bank to a museum is not the best route. £2.8m a year seems a small price to pay for keeping an international symbol of Britain’s prowess going.
John Sommer
Saltford, Somerset
I’m dismayed at the news that Jodrell Bank Observatory is under threat. I enjoyed an enlightening day at the visitor centre recently, and was planning a return visit. Could I suggest that the relevant funding body dig out their own telescopes and take a long hard look at the future of British science and those young people looking forward to careers in science, engineering and technology?
Peter Baddeley
Painswick, Gloucestershire
