An formidable scheme costing as much as £120million was mooted to maneuver the Millennium Dome to Swindon as a part of a plan together with a museum, gardening exhibition and retirement village.
The stunning thought – uncovered by the paperwork – was steered as New Labour desperately sought a future for the unpopular and expensive Dome, which had been meant to showcase ‘Cool Britannia’ however closed after a 12 months.
Science Museum director Lindsay Sharp wrote to Tony Blair in March 2001 suggesting a ‘fully totally different and thrilling risk’ can be to maneuver the large construction 80 miles west from Greenwich, south-east London, to a 620-acre website overlooking the M4 in Wiltshire.
An formidable scheme costing as much as £120million was mooted to maneuver the Millennium Dome to Swindon as a part of a plan together with a museum, gardening exhibition and retirement village
Science Museum director Lindsay Sharp wrote to Tony Blair in March 2001 suggesting a ‘fully totally different and thrilling risk’ can be to maneuver the large construction 80 miles west from Greenwich, south-east London , to a 620-acre website overlooking the M4 in Wiltshire
The positioning, owned by his museum and 4 miles from Swindon, included the previous RAF Wroughton airfield.
The recordsdata present Dr Sharp envisaged the Science Museum might develop ‘a significant new public facility dedicated to interactivity and immersively exhibiting the most recent in sensible features and analysis into sustainability’ housed underneath the Dome and in 12 hangars of 40,000 sq ft every already there.
Wroughton Airfield in Swindon in 2015 – the positioning the place the Millennium Dome might have been moved to
He steered there may be an exhibit on time, cosmology and house exploration on the website.
As well as, Dr Sharp proposed a ‘new type of worldwide gardening exposition’ and a ‘residing residential group of the third age resulting in cross-generational volunteerism on website’, lodge lodging and a vacationer village.
He admitted there was no information accessible on the associated fee and feasibility of transferring the Dome – a construction 1,200ft in diameter and 170ft excessive – however floated a determine of ‘not more than, say, £120 million’.
The stunning thought – uncovered by the paperwork – was steered as New Labour desperately sought a future for the unpopular and expensive Dome, which had been meant to showcase ‘Cool Britannia’ however closed after a 12 months
The letter was faxed to Anji Hunter, the No 10 ‘gatekeeper’ who managed entry to Mr Blair. However Charles Falconer, the minister liable for the Dome, stated in a memo to Mr Blair: ‘We’re encouraging them to rethink their proposals within the context of the Dome staying in Greenwich.’
The £800 million Millennium Dome, which was opened amid a lot fanfare on December 31, 1999, was ultimately redeveloped into the favored present venue O2 Enviornment.
