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The future of a number of research programmes for the Department of the
Environment has been thrown into doubt by the threatened closure of Warren
Spring laboratory. The DoE is Warren Spring’s biggest customer. And
according to sources in the department, it would have to halt research into
air quality, contaminated land and environmental technologies, while it
looked for new customers.

Last month, the Department of Trade and Industry, which owns the laboratory,
ordered a secret review of plans to move it to a new site. It concluded that
the cheapest option would be to close the laboratory and transfer half its
scientists to AEA Technology in Oxfordshire. President of the Board of
Trade, Michael Heseltine, told Warren Spring’s director that he was ‘minded’
to accept the review’s conclusions.

Last year, Warren Spring carried out research worth £5
million for the DoE. Nevertheless, the environment minister Michael Howard
was not consulted before the DTI commissioned its review. ‘We got no warning
of this move,’ said one official at the DoE. ‘It is very disturbing. We
might be forced to put some of the contracts currently with Warren Spring
out to retender.’

PA Consulting, the company that carried out the review, has been competing
with Warren Spring for research contracts. Last year, the two bid against
each other for at least two contracts from the DTI. Both PA and Warren
Spring are active as government advisers on environmental policy, product
management, waste management and air pollution.