An Oxfordshire science facility is set to been extended following the granting of planning permission.
Property consultancy Carter Jonas has secured approval on behalf of UK’s national synchrotron light source, Diamond Light Source (Diamond), to extend its presence at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.
Diamond works like a giant microscope, harnessing the power of electrons to produce bright light that is used to study anything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines.
The company required a new facility in preparation for its Diamond-II upgrade, which will comprise a new machine and new beamlines with a comprehensive series of upgrades to optics, detectors, sample environments, sample delivery capabilities and computing.
The new space will accommodate assembly rooms, accessed off a central service spine, with all plant accessed from the perimeter road. It will also include offices and a variety of spaces for different staff preferences, working styles and team events.
Dr Richard Walker, interim project director and technical director at Diamond Light Source, stated “Diamond Light Source has established itself as a world-class synchrotron facility enabling research by leading academic and industrial groups in physical and life sciences.
“To continue delivering the world-changing science that Diamond leads and enables, Diamond-II is a project that will deliver a new machine, new flagship beamlines, critical upgrades to several beamlines, and an extensive series of enhancements to optics, detectors, sample environments, and computing to support the capacity of the new machine. This will enable new applications at Diamond, including time-resolved experiments for several disciplines.”
