Jodrell Bank research funding decision
Cover photograph: Tanya Barrow / Unsplash.
Jodrell Bank remains open, but the future of its e-MERLIN radio astronomy network and scientific operations is at risk after a decision to end funding.
Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, near Macclesfield, is home to the Lovell Telescope and the e-MERLIN network. In July 2026, the Science and Technology Facilities Council decided not to renew the network’s operational funding beyond its current contract.
The contract ends on 31 March 2028. The e-MERLIN team says its observations and other scientific observations using the affected Jodrell Bank telescopes would cease from 1 April 2028 without replacement funding. The University of Manchester is seeking alternatives. In a 21 October 2026 parliamentary answer, the government confirmed that STFC did not intend to continue e-MERLIN operational funding after March 2028. The observatory and visitor centre remain open.
Nearly 70 years at the forefront of astronomy
The Lovell Telescope was completed in 1957 and was then the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. While it was still nearly complete, it tracked the carrier rocket that launched Sputnik 1 in October 1957; the telescope became fully operational in the following weeks.
It remains the third-largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world and continues to play an important role in research into pulsars, galaxies and other astronomical objects.
The Lovell Telescope is part of e-MERLIN, an array of seven radio telescopes across England. By combining their signals, the array can produce radio images with angular resolution comparable to the Hubble Space Telescope.
The network is used to investigate topics including star formation, galaxies and black holes.
Photograph: Ambitious Studio / Rick Barrett / Unsplash.
Funding cut amid growing research costs
In July 2026, Cheshire East and regional leaders called for the £2.8 million annual funding to continue for five years while longer-term options were explored. The funding supports the e-MERLIN facility and associated scientific operations.
UK Research and Innovation’s factsheet confirms the e-MERLIN funding decision and says that it continues to support other activity at the Jodrell Bank site, including the Square Kilometre Array Observatory headquarters.
Scientists have described the loss of funding as devastating and warned that closing the observatory’s scientific operation would damage Britain’s position in radio astronomy.
In July 2026, Professor Simon Garrington, an associate director of the observatory, said he intended to challenge the decision while exploring alternative funding.
A landmark of global scientific importance
Jodrell Bank was established in 1945, when physicist and radio astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell began using former military radar equipment to study cosmic rays.
The site went on to pioneer radio astronomy and transformed scientists’ understanding of galaxies beyond the Milky Way. It also played an important role during the Cold War, when its equipment was used to monitor Soviet space activity and missile launches.
Jodrell Bank’s contribution to science and engineering earned the site UNESCO World Heritage status in 2019. It is also home to the international headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, which is overseeing the construction of radio telescope arrays in South Africa and Australia.
Jodrell Bank has trained generations of astronomers, scientists and engineers. The e-MERLIN team warns that losing the facility would affect training and the UK’s radio astronomy capability.
In July 2026, Cheshire East councillors gave cross-party support to a motion calling for continued funding for the observatory’s scientific operations. The council warned that reductions would threaten scientific capability, skilled employment, educational outreach and the long-term future of Jodrell Bank as an operational observatory.
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