EFFORTS to bring a £1bn world-beating scientific research facility to North Yorkshire are being hampered by Government apathy, MPs have been told.
The bid to bring the centre, and up to 3,000 jobs, to the county was cited as an example of the funding differences between the North and South.
The county is among the front-runners for the new European Spallation Source centre, which allows scientists to look more closely at the structure of objects.
A 220-hectare site at Burn airfield, near Selby, has been earmarked as a prime site.
Its chances were boosted last month when one of the bidders dropped out, leaving North Yorkshire, Oxford, Scandinavia and a site in Germany, still in the running.
But the executive director of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, Tom Riordan, said the Government is waiting for Europe to make a decision and not taking an active role in battling for the centre.
He said: "Whitehall is apathetic at this stage on this particular issue and there is a tendency to feel Oxford and Cambridge are the places where expertise lies."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article