HOLMES Chapel MP Fiona Bruce has welcomed major funding for a spectacular new gallery at Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.

The project is to go ahead after winning more than £16 million in funding for the £20.5 million project.

The funding is to come from The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Of the £16.1 million £12.1 million is thanks to National Lottery players, with a further £4 million coming from the Government.

The First Light at Jodrell Bank project will create a gallery building which will promote and celebrate Jodrell Bank’s world-leading place in the history of astronomy, and a pioneering chapter in British scientific and cultural history.

Prime Minister Theresa May visited Jodrell Bank to deliver a major speech on science technology and to confirm funding for the new gallery at the world-famous site.

The event was attend by MP Fiona Bruce, who said: “It was a sign of the importance the Government places on the work at Jodrell Bank that the Prime Minister was accompanied by no less than four Senior Government Ministers when she made her important speech about the Government’s investment in science and technology and in Jodrell Bank.

“It is exciting that the green light has been given for a further £16 million to be invested at Jodrell Bank.

“This will include developing the Discovery Centre for visitors into an even more interesting place, particularly for children to visit and learn about the difference scientific developments at Jodrell Bank are making such as to help treat cancer.

“With the announcement of Jodrell Bank as a World Heritage Centre, visitor numbers are expected to double from the current figure of approximately 186,000 per year and I am very proud that the iconic Lovell Telescope stands in my constituency.”

The Prime Minister visited a workshop involving children from Goostrey Community Primary School and met University of Manchester postgrad and postdoc researchers, before joining a meeting of the Council for Science and Technology.

In her speech, delivered in front of the iconic Lovell Telescope, Mrs May unveiled four new missions as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, tackling subjects such as healthy ageing, zero-carbon vehicles, home energy efficiency and using AI to improve disease detection and prevention.