§ Mr. Geraint HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the present state of the Welsh plant breeding station, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthProgress in establishing the new Agricultural and Food Research Council institute of grassland and environmental research centred on the Welsh plant breeding station is well under way. Construction of new laboratory and associated facilities at the Aberystwyth site costing £5.1 million is now in progress.
The institute also includes sites at North Wyke in Devon and Bronydd Mawr near Brecon. An additional 446W site at Trawsgoed will be purchased from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Buildings and facilities at the North Wyke and Trawsgoed sites are planned at costs of £1.6 million and £1 million respectively.
The new institute will provide the strategic science base to meet the environmental and land use challenges of the next century, and will be capable of attracting research supported by industry on the milk, beef and sheep sectors.