Jodrell Bank is the Northern Powerhouse star

MP for Macclesfield, David Rutley, along with leaders from University of Manchester and Jodrell Bank Observatory, recently welcomed Andrew Percy MP, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, to Jodrell Bank.

During the visit, the Minister and Professor Teresa Anderson MBE, Director of Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, signed a Northern Powerhouse Partnership Agreement, bringing together Jodrell Bank’s strengths with those of the Government to help the North achieve its full potential and attract new jobs and investment to the region. The Minister also visited the Control Room of the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the iconic 76-metre Lovell Telescope.

The Minister also visited the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, which attracts around 165,000 visitors each year, including 22,000 school pupils on educational visits. He learned more about how the Centre provides an out-of-classroom education experience aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Professor Anderson and her team are currently working on an ambitious £22.5 million project to deliver a major new visitor facility to extend the Discovery Centre’s reach to a wider audience and more fully celebrate Jodrell Bank’s unique science heritage. The project has already been awarded £12 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund and an additional £1.2 million has been raised through match funding.

Following the meeting, David said: “Jodrell Bank is a much-loved icon of the North and, as a result, is uniquely placed to help define the potential of the Northern Powerhouse and showcase the UK’s world leading science and its science heritage. It will help put the spotlight on the North and be an important boost to tourism. I will continue to actively support Jodrell Bank’s exciting plans in the months ahead.”