The Government has unexpectedly delayed the decision on whether to award a £175m science project to Oxfordshire.

A decision on the Synchrotron scheme - the biggest single scientific investment in Britain for 15 years - will now be taken in January.

The two competitors are the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, at Chilton, near Didcot, and the Daresbury Laboratory, near Warrington, Cheshire.

The Synchrotron - an X-ray machine which can study the molecular structure of materials - is one of the most important scientific schemes currently up for grabs. Awarding it to RAL would create 400 new jobs. It would also secure its position as Britain's premier nuclear and scientific laboratory.

However, it would almost certainly result in the closure of Daresbury costing up to 500 jobs.

Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers had been expected to announce his decision last week.

But he has decided to call for further investigations before deciding where the Synchrotron should be based. Wantage MP Robert Jackson welcomed the delay. But he said he hoped ministers would ignore a lobbying campaign in favour of Daresbury and give the project to Oxfordshire.

In a written Commons answer, Mr Byers said that he had carefully considered the scientific and financial issues and the conclusions of a number of studies.

Mr Byers said he was commissioning two further studies before a final decision is made.

Mr Jackson said: "I welcome this decision as long as the reviews come up with the right answer - siting the Synchrotron at the Rutherford." The RAL is the headquarters of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils.

RAL spokesman Jacky Hutchinson said the CCLRC welcomed an attempt to resolve the siting issue and said scientists who would use the synchrotron would be able to contribute to the debate.

"The CCLRC looks forward to contributing to this process by providing the information requested about each site," said Mrs Hutchinson.

Story date: Monday 29 November

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