TWO of Britain鈥檚 main centres for particle physics will remain in public
ownership, the government announced last week. The Daresbury Laboratory in
Cheshire and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire will be
amalgamated and become an independent body next April with its own management
and chief executive.
Until then, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will
continue to run the two laboratories. Once independent, the Daresbury and
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory will be expected to pay its own way, charging
鈥渃ustomers鈥� in the research councils and industry for use of its powerful
radiation sources. It will also receive a government grant to help cover
overheads.