CHAMPIONS of a £1 billion science centre were travelling to London today for talks to win Government backing for the project.

Representatives for the bid to bring the European Spallation Source (ESS) to Burn, near Selby, were due to discuss the issue with Science Minister Lord Sainsbury at the Department of Trade and Industry.

The meeting was organised by Selby MP John Grogan, who has been championing the bid by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the White Rose Consortium - a partnership between the universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield.

Mr Grogan said: "The project is as important for Yorkshire as the Olympics are for London.

"This meeting will provide an ideal platform for the Yorkshire delegation to impress on the Minister not only the impact ESS could have for the United Kingdom in terms of retaining its lead in this important scientific discipline, but also the enormously positive impact it could have for the region."

The nine-strong delegation includes Mr Grogan, Professor Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, Coun Mark Crane and Coun Brian Percival.

The centre will include a ground-breaking investigative tool known as a neutron scattering facility which will allow scientists to look at materials in far more detail than ever before and develop better metals, plastics and oils.

Sites in Sweden and Germany are also in the running for the facility, which will be the largest of its kind when it opens in 2010.

If the Burn bid was successful, the centre would create about 1,000 permanent jobs with another 3,000 during the construction phase.

The final decision on who wins the project rests with officials in Europe but Mr Grogan believes that securing Government backing would advance the Yorkshire case which has been planned over the last decade.

"Unlike the Olympics, we are not yet sure that the ESS project will ever happen," he said.

"The German government, beset with economic problems, appears to have gone somewhat lukewarm in recent months.

"We will be seeking to impress upon Lord Sainsbury the urgency of the British government carrying out a review of the costs and benefits of the proposed project."

Updated: 12:26 Tuesday, July 01, 2003