NEWS that £25m and 1,300 jobs are on the way to Daresbury's Science and Innovation Campus comes days after 100 scientists were told they will lose their jobs at the neighbouring STFC laboratory.

The campus conducts highly technical science by businesses, whereas the STFC laboratory is responsible for advanced scientific research.

Union members met Ian Pearson, during his visit, to discuss the job losses, which could rise to 300, and the future of the lab.

Dr Mike MacDonald, protein crystallography station scientist is to lose his job in six months. He said: "There are probably about a dozen similar laboratories around the world where I could go to continue my work. I was expecting this outcome for at least the past four years and am not angry because in my own personal situation I am mobile and can go anywhere to continue the science.

"You have to think: is it the continuity of the staff or the continuity of the science? It is the science."

Europe's first next generation light source project, ALICE (Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments) that has received £25 million of public funding, could be pulled after Government funding to secure the project's future has not been confirmed.

The project that has been active for six years could be scrapped in July, before providing any experimental results.

Union members hope the multi-million pound project will be funded so that the work can be safeguarded and further research into how a fourth generation new light source might work can take place.

If funding is not received at an appropriate level, the current employees will lose their jobs, leaving specifically qualified scientists to find work in other countries.

Dr Lee Jones, chairman of the Prospect Trade Union at Daresbury Laboratory, said: "We want to see ALICE funded at around £3m per year to cover operations and exploitation.

"We need a decision sooner rather than later to site the NLS at Daresbury as the beating heart at the centre of the Science and Innovation Campus, creating the crucible in which knowledge exchange takes place."

Despite the looming redundancies, the laboratory that was founded in 1962 has a proud history of advanced science that has positively impacted on the lives of many people.