Newly-opened Megalab will bring 1,000 jobs to Warwickshire

“The facility is named after the brilliant chemist Rosalind Franklin, whose work included significant contributions to the understanding of DNA and viruses. So, I hope her story will be an inspiration for a new generation of scientists and engineers recruited locally via apprenticeships and other routes into employment.”

Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council have warmly welcomed the opening of the largest diagnostic testing laboratory in the UK in Royal Leamington Spa by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The new Rosalind Franklin laboratory, on Harrison Drive, South Leamington, opened on July 13th and will play a key role in the fight against Covid-19 as part of the NHS Test and Trace programme. The facility has already created new jobs for 300 local people with an additional 700 offers pending, from highly skilled scientific roles to entry level positions for school leavers and graduates.

With links already forged with the University of Warwick and Coventry University, the new laboratory is expected to become a key centre for training and placements, as well as medical research. Once fully operational there will also be the opportunity to stimulate further local employment opportunities in the manufacturing and supply chain.

Leader of Warwickshire County Council, Councillor Izzi Seccombe said: “This great new national facility in Warwickshire is vital for the work of the NHS and their work around test and trace to keep us all safe. It also presents an excellent opportunity for the county and the West Midlands to grow the med-tech supply chain in the region, and the high-quality jobs and investment it brings to Warwickshire.

“The facility is named after the brilliant chemist Rosalind Franklin, whose work included significant contributions to the understanding of DNA and viruses. So, I hope her story will be an inspiration for a new generation of scientists and engineers recruited locally via apprenticeships and other routes into employment.”

Leader of Warwick District Council, Councillor Andrew Day commented: “This much anticipated opening of the Rosalind Franklin laboratory is a massive boost for our district, bringing up to 1,500 new jobs demanding a broad range of skill sets and opportunities for training and development for our young people.

“The location of the laboratory was of great importance to the government and we are proud that we were able to assist in making sure that our town met the rigorous selection criteria. The Council will continue to give this important new national facility its full support and we are confident that the benefits will be felt locally for many years to come."