THE government has confirmed no decision will be made on whether to relocate the Public Health England site at Porton Down to Harlow until after the election.

It is a decision that could potentially mean a loss of 550 jobs in the area and Salisbury MP John Glen has long been campaigning for a rethink on the proposed move.

He previously told parliament that that the Salisbury site could form a science corridor with the University of Southampton and Oxford to help continue leading the way in scientific research.

“Since June 2010, Public Health England’s management have been seeking to move significant elements of Porton’s capability to a new hub in Harlow,” he said.

“It seems strange to me that, after five years, a government minister will not sign off on this expensive proposal.

“I hope that the ongoing work to examine the full economic potential of Porton on the back of investment in Dstl and the new science park will lead to new options being considered.

“These will safeguard their core activities, fully exploit Porton’s contribution to life sciences and avoid huge sums of taxpayers’ money going to waste.”

The Department of Health have said that facilities need to be upgraded if it is to stay at Porton.

A Public Health England spokesperson said: “In July 2014, Public Health England submitted its proposal to the government as part of the Outline Business Case for a national Science Hub.

“PHE recommended an option to co-locate its facilities at Porton, Colindale and Whitechapel and some of its London-based corporate services to a new campus in Harlow.

“PHE are waiting for a Government decision. “If the proposal is accepted, PHE Science Hub will become the national centre for public health science and services creating a centre of excellence for research, health improvement and protection.”