18 November 2025
Luke Myer MP and neighbouring MP Alison Hume are working closely together to support the next phase of development at Boulby Underground Laboratory, stepping up their campaign to secure a major future project following approaches from leading UK physicists who are seeking strong regional backing.
Through the Boulby Development Project, funded by UKRI’s preliminary infrastructure programme, designs and business cases have been drawn up for new underground halls in both the salt and polyhalite layers, a manufacturing and surface facility, and an expanded science programme across particle physics, environmental science, astrobiology and planetary exploration. The aim is to have new facilities ready by around 2030 – in line with XLZD’s timetable for choosing a site and beginning construction.
Academics representing the UK arm of the XLZD international dark matter collaboration – a consortium involving more than 440 scientists worldwide – have written to local MPs outlining the significant opportunity for the North East if XLZD is hosted at Boulby. The project is one of the most important scientific projects proposed anywhere in the country, and Boulby, already the UK’s only deep underground science facility, is well placed to host the world’s largest and most advanced dark matter detector. Backed by an initial £8 million UKRI Infrastructure Fund award in 2024, UK researchers and the STFC Boulby team have been developing designs for the experiment and preparing the site as part of the Boulby Development Project.
If chosen, XLZD would bring one of the most ambitious physics experiments in decades to the East Cleveland coastline – a project often compared in significance to the Large Hadron Collider’s discovery of the Higgs boson. It would also generate long-term economic benefits: contracts for local firms, demand for specialist skills, a steady flow of visiting scientists from across the world, and plans for new apprenticeships developed with Redcar & Cleveland College and Teesside University. Designs are in progress for new underground halls, a surface manufacturing facility, and a strengthened multidisciplinary research programme ranging from particle physics to climate and planetary science.
With national research budgets tight, the project requires careful attention to ensure it progresses. Luke and Alison are seeking meetings with ministers, STFC leaders and regional stakeholders to argue that investment in Boulby is exactly the kind of long-term, high-impact project that supports the Government’s ambitions on growth, levelling up and making the UK a “science superpower”.
Luke Myer MP said:
“Boulby is already a jewel in the crown of UK science – and hosting XLZD here would take that to a whole new level. I’m proud to have this world-leading scentific research right here in East Cleveland, and this project is a huge opportunity for our region.
“Alison and I have been impressed by the scale of the ambition and the clarity of the case. We will be speaking with STFC, ministers and regional partners to ensure this project gets the full attention it deserves.”
Meanwhile, the Boulby Underground Lab team continues to grow and innovate. The laboratory has recently welcomed four new staff members – Ciarán, Joel, James and Joseph – and launched QuASAR, a pioneering quantum-sensing experiment in partnership with Durham University that will test cutting-edge cold-atom technology 1.1km below ground.
For Luke and Alison, the message is clear: this is a moment of real possibility for East Cleveland and North Yorkshire, and now is the time to push hard to make sure the region benefits.