THE SPACEGUARD CENTRE
Over the weekend I was in Pembrokeshire as well as Powys and Ceredigion. In Knighton at surgery I met up with Mr & Mrs Tate who run the Spaceguard Centre, i.e. the observatory on the outskirts of Knighton. This centre does not receive any public money by way of grant. It is a marvellous facility. When I visited it I remember being captivated by the possibilities of space, and can well understand why this is so popular for school visits.
The Spaceguard Centre has now had the opportunity to acquire a large telescope from Cambridge University, which Cambridge no longer has any use for. There is nil cost associated with the acquisition and, indeed, a local businessman has agreed to finance the carriage of the telescope and to store it while alterations are made at the Spaceguard Centre to accommodate the new telescope. Yes, here is ‘the rub’, £62,500 is needed to make the necessary alterations to accommodate the telescope. The Science Minister at Westminster has said no, and so far so has the Assembly. I am now asking Rhodri Glyn Thomas, our Tourism Minister, to see what possibilities exist for funding this capital sum because the Spaceguard Centre is a unique facility in the United Kingdom, and has massive tourism and educational potential in a town like Knighton for tourism opportunities and the income that this could bring into the area are certainly not to be ignored.
