A parcel of land behind the British Library will be sold to a consortium of medical institutions and developed into a £0.5 billion research centre.

The sale, announced by Gordon Brown yesterday, will see a new facility operated by the Medical Research Centre, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and UCL.

The plans include the relocation of the MRC’s largest research institute from Mill Hill.

This has been brewing for some time. The idea is controversial, not least because the site may have to accommodate a viral research facility and animal research lab within central London. Colin Blakemore, former head of the MRC, stepped down partly because of the brouhaha.

Now the decision has finally been made, we can look forward to yet another scientific presence along Euston Road. Is central London getting its first science park by stealth?

Nature News has the full story.