The UKCMRI at St Pancras could bring ‘immense benefits’ if risks are overcome, concludes report.
Matt Brown
The House of Commons Innovation, Universities & Skills Committee today praised plans for a new UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, while raising a number of concerns.
The new centre, set for a brownfield site near St Pancras, would bring together expertise from the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, UCL and the Wellcome Trust.
The Committee, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, heard evidence from the four partners in December and today published its first report on the project since its announcement.
Chair of the Committee Phil Willis called the UKCMRI “potentially one of the most exciting developments in UK research for some time.” However, the report raises a number of issues.
We remain concerned that the sponsors and proponents of this scheme have not seriously evaluated other options outside London, particularly as the proposed location has planning considerations which may prove fatal to the project.
While convenient for the British Library and the partners, who are all headquartered within walking distance, the site is confined, and could place high-security animal laboratories close to housing.
There are few hard figures available about the eventual cost of the project.
The estimated cost is £500 million, with £260 million coming from the publicly funded MRC. However, the committee is anxious that this contribution is ‘unacceptably vague’ and urge a more accurate breakdown soon. The committee was also scathing of a recent Treasury decision to appropriate £92 million of MRC savings, and demanded an explanation.
Other challenges to the timetable could arise from the competition for construction and project management skills posed by the 2012 Olympics and any delays in gaining planning approval.
As well as noting that the projected 2013 completion could be jeopardised by drawn-out funding approval processes, the Committee also pointed out risks from planning applications and skills shortages caused by the Olympics development.
The report concludes with a positive note on the ‘immense benefits’ the project would bring to UK research, and requests quarterly updates on progress.
Watch this space for a fact file on the UKCMRI next week.
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