The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank in Cheshire has been saved from closure for the time being.

Thanks to an agreement to reinstate funding for e-Merlin, which is Jodrell Bank's key research project, the observatory's future is secure for the medium term.

The government's Science and Technology Facilities Council had planned to cut funding for e-Merlin but money has been made available to cover operating costs for the next three years.

Professor Phil Diamond, the director of Jodrell, told the Times that the immediate problem had been solved.

"It puts us in a good position to discuss and plan for the longer term - hopefully without any funding crises on the horizon," he added.

The e-Merlin project consists of two radio telescopes at the Jodrell Bank observatory, as well as dishes at Darnhall and Pickmere in Cheshire.

Around £2.5 million of taxpayers' money has been used by the Northwest Regional Development Agency to fund the physical infrastructure of e-Merlin.