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UCL Completes Purchase of Clare Hall Animal Facility
16 January 2018
We are delighted to announce that UCL has completed the purchase of Clare Hall animal breeding facility at South Mimms (also known as P Block) from Cancer Research UK.
This
exciting development ensures an additional 20 000 cage spaces in a high-quality
mouse breeding facility, and underpins UCL's biomedical research efforts
involving the use of laboratory animals for the foreseeable future. As mouse
breeding colonies expand at Clare Hall, so space will be released at local BSUs
to hold more animals on study and to accommodate more procedures.
The acquisition of the Clare Hall facility is part of a wider UCL strategy for the provision of Biological Services, whose sole purpose is to support UCL's research involving the use of animals (see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/slms-intranet/biological-services-strategy/). A Science Advisory Group led by Professor Maria Fitzgerald has worked closely with independent advisors, CCTech, to provide guidance to Biological Services in the implementation of the recommendations of the consultation held in 2016.
During 2017, a mobilisation team has been preparing for completion and have been covering off the various aspects that surround such a complex project, including logistics, rederivation plans, general administration and staffing. Experienced staff are in place at Clare Hall to manage and develop the Clare Hall facility, and the first mouse lines are now ready to be introduced. Additionally, the Clare Hall establishment licence has been integrated with the UCL licence.