In 2006 Elanor Taylor wrote that it was time for the UK to wage war on intelligent design, saying that while it and creationism used to be regarded like line dancing and SUVs – "peculiarly American phenomena" – they were now taking root in British life. The last few years have led to more debate about creationism and intelligent design, especially their classroom presence, due in part to Darwin's bicentenary celebrations and the continued, sometimes acrimonious, discussion about the relationship between science and religion. Creationism in this country has its cheerleaders in museums, schools and zoos, but what of intelligent design? In Glasgow, a new institution hopes to fill that gap.

The Centre for Intelligent Design features a video introduction from Dr Alastair Noble, who has argued that ID should not be excluded from the study of origins. He says, among other things, that he is part of a network of people who are "dissatisfied with the pervading Darwinian explanation of origins and are attracted to the much more credible position of intelligent design" and criticise the "strident strain of science" that says the only acceptable explanations are those depending on "physical and materialistic processes".

The small print of the website says the centre's activity "is organised under a charitable trust governed by the laws of Guernsey, Channel Islands". The centre receives funding from individuals and organisations who support its aims, according to the website, and its launch has earned plaudits from the Discovery Institute which says the centre returns ID to its roots: "Some of the best known pioneers of modern science did their work in Britain and Europe in the conviction that they were exploring a universe that really was designed."

In a telephone interview, Noble denies that the centre is a British branch of Discovery: "We are friends with Discovery and we talk to them, but we are not formally linked. We would be interested in developing links with Europe. We don't get money from America – it is funded from Britain. We don't have huge amounts of money. We will have a series of projects and will raise funds as and when needed."

According to Noble, what separates the Centre for Intelligent Design from other bodies engaged in the evolution argument is its emphasis on science: "There are various organisations that debate the faith issue around origins, but what we will be trying to do is open a debate around the scientific issue. ID is consistently misrepresented as a religious position. The debate about ID is quite difficult to elevate to a civilised conversation. It's not about religion, it's about evidence."

The network of people supporting the centre's activities numbers between 50 and 100. Among them is its president Professor Norman Nevin, emeritus professor of medical genetics, Queens University, Belfast, and its vice-president Dr David Galloway, who is also vice president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow. In its FAQs, the site lists the UK scientists "who are brave enough to make their support for intelligent design public. There are many more who are not willing to risk their careers by making their objections to evolution known."

Blogger and anti-Creationist campaigner Naon Tiotami notes that the support of "prominent academics" suggests "they may stand a fighting chance at being taken seriously by the media, something that Truth in Science hasn't accomplished," before adding: "All we can do at the moment is hope that this new project crash-lands before it even properly gets its feet off the ground."

Next month the centre hosts Professor Mike Behe on a national lecture tour.

I asked Michael Reiss professor of science education at the Institute of Education in London what he thought about the Centre for Intelligent Design. He replied: "In a free society it is important that organisations that do not accept the scientific theory of evolution are allowed to exist and to proclaim their message. However, the overwhelming scientific consensus is that the arguments against the theory of evolution put forward by creationists and those who advocate intelligent design (ID) are invalid.

"In a school setting this means that while teachers of science are perfectly at liberty to address creationist and ID issues, should they so wish, students must not be given the impression that there is a scientific controversy over whether the Earth is very old (about 4.6 billion years old) or whether all species descend from very simple common ancestors."

For now, the Centre for Intelligent Design is nothing more than a website and an office. What it achieves will depend on how much appetite there is in the UK for intelligent design and what resistance is mounted to its message.