Jodrell Bank, a world-class radio astronomy facility and the centre of the UK's e-Merlin network, faces potential closure after the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) announced plans to pull its funding. The STFC intends to cease support in March 2028, which would halt all observations unless new funding sources are found.
The facility, which began with Bernard Lovell's cosmic ray studies in 1945, became home to the Lovell telescope in 1957, then the world's largest radio telescope. Decades of upgrades have maintained its status as a key part of the UK's national radio astronomy capability.
The STFC has stated a need to make £162m in savings by 2030, attributing this to cost overruns from rising electricity and staff expenses, alongside high foreign exchange rates for international collaborations. Other areas of UK physics are also affected, with cuts to facilities like the Diamond synchrotron and Isis muon and neutron source, and the mothballing of the Clara facility.
UK involvement in international projects, such as the Rubin observatory in Chile and an observatory in La Palma, will see cuts of 20%. Work on the Bison solar observation network is set to fall by 40%, and the country is withdrawing from the Event Horizon Telescope. A recent survey indicated that nearly 80% of early-career physicists are considering leaving the UK due to the funding crisis.