The proposal for 'Building R134' at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, part of Harwell and Science Innovation Campus near Didcot, has been handed to the Vale of White District Council for a planning consultation, which will end on August 19. In the project's design and access statement, the planners called it a "sustainable energy distribution facility, designed to de-carbonise the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory campus". Aerial view of Rutherford Appleton LaboratoryDr Roger Eccleston, Head of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Image: RAL)The proposed energy centre will be largely unoccupied other than for occasional access by authorised maintenance personnel. The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, with its key focuses including particle physics and space science. Approximately 1,200 people work at the site which has existed since 1957 and is named after the physicists Ernest Rutherford and Edward Appleton.