Former scientists site to become Cambs police training centre
THE former Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Monks Wood, where Government scientists monitored the effects of climate change for 45 years, could become a training centre for Cambridgeshire police. The National Environmental Research Council complex, wh
THE former Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Monks Wood, where Government scientists monitored the effects of climate change for 45 years, could become a training centre for Cambridgeshire police.
The National Environmental Research Council complex, which was finally vacated by CEH boffins at the end of January, could replace temporary facilities at Alconbury airfield if the police authority's offer to buy it goes through.
The authority confirmed this week that it had made an offer for the site, which could become a permanent training and conference facility for much of the county force.
It has applied to Huntingdonshire District Council for planning consent to change the site's use from a research centre to a training centre.
You may also want to watch:
A police authority spokesman said she believed little work would have to be done before the police could make use of the site if the sale went ahead and planning permission were granted.
Monks Wood Experimental was opened by Lord Hailsham, then Minister of Science, in October 1963. It was built for the Nature Conservancy to carry out research into conservation biology.
Most Read
- 1 Homes plan will 'breathe new life' into town
- 2 Dramatic drop in face-to-face GP appointments
- 3 Bullying and insider trader claims pile up against former deputy leader
- 4 Cambridgeshire police officer dismissed after conduct hearing
- 5 Read our focus on Ramsey town centre
- 6 Best Seat in the House - Meal boxes - are they an over-priced luxury?
- 7 Woman who died in fatal crash in Eaton Ford has been named
- 8 More Readers' Photos for this week
- 9 WATCH: One minute silence to honour the Duke
- 10 Charity 130-mile trek raises over £4,000 after rare diagnosis for Hunts man
Its first director, Dr (later Professor) Kenneth Mellanby, had taken up residence in a wooden hut on site two years earlier in October 1961. In June 1962 he was joined by a nucleus of staff who had been in temporary accommodation in Swavesey and St Ives, according to Hunts Post reader Dr Colin Welch, who worked there for many years.