Brits start petition to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closure amid budget cuts

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Save Jodrell Bank from closing petition

Greater Manchester, the North West and Brits at large are urging people across the country to pen a petition to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing down for good.

In fact, this is just one petition among numerous protests over its impending closure.

For anyone who somehow hadn’t come across the sad news, the national institution that is Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) in Cheshire, which includes the award-winning and world-famous James Lovell Telescope, is scheduled to shut down permanently by March 2028.

Despite having served a crucial part in alleviating Cold War tensions back in the 1960s, operating as an important scientific hub under the University of Manchester umbrella, and remaining a major tourist pull for the region, it’s unfortunately lost its funding and is on course to be decommissioned.

While the massive Northern landmark near Macclesfield is home not only to the largest telescope in the UK, important physics research and even an annual music, arts and science festival in the form of Bluedot, its cultural significance doesn’t appear enough to keep it solvent.

Described as a “huge blow to astronomy” not just here in Britain but for the global industry as a whole, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have even described it as a form of “scientific vandalism.”

Having been open since around the end of WWII, before going on to possess the largest steerable radio telescope of its kind in the entire world by 1957, it’s been used to identify distant planets, stars, galaxies and more up in the far reaches of space.

Dr Megan Argo, reader in astrophysics at the University of Lancashire – which also shares a fruitful partnership with the centre alongside UoM, Cambridge, York and many more – said in a statement: “Jodrell Bank is still a very active facility and remains at the forefront of research.

“Recent upgrades have facilitated new discoveries about planet, star and galaxy formation which tell us about our own history, helping to answer one of humanity’s biggest questions: are we alone in the universe?” Put simply, the steps currently being taken have been called “short-sighted” to say the least.

With that in mind, people across the sector and online are now rallying behind the initiative to try and rescue the important and historic UNESCO site before it’s too late.

Cheshire and Warrington mayoral candidate Ben Fletcher is one of several notable names that have publicly backed the push to save the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre as a whole, along with its highly valuable facilities.

Meanwhile, one user on X added: “I’ve got an opinion on the Jodrell Bank stupidity – and I’m sorry, but that’s a polite understatement. But it is frankly unrepeatable in impolite company, let alone polite.

“I hope the nitwits who have made the decision feel proud about themselves though. Because pride comes before the fall.”

You can see the numerous posts from supporter voices on the Change.org page, including everyone from impassioned scientists and researchers who first discovered their love for these subjects by visiting the attraction, as well as Northerners who simply enjoyed some of their most precious memories there.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) needs to cut an estimated £700 million by 2029/30, and JBO needs to find enough funds to cover its £2.8m budget to avoid closing in the next couple of years. So, if you’ve been stirred by the passionate appeals, you can sign the petition HERE.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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