AFTER all the months of talk and lapsed bids, it seems the Dome saga has reached a temporary conclusion (front page).

The site has been provisionally leased by Meridian Delta, a consortium of investors who say they're going to turn it into a huge sports arena, with business parks and housing filling the spaces outside.

But no papers have been signed and there is still a massive difference of opinion between the two parties over what proportion of the deal's profits should go back to the taxpayer.

The Government and English Partnerships, which manages the site, have always insisted they were looking for a buyer for the Dome but have settled for a long-term lease in their desperation to stop justifiably negative coverage of what has been a failed and extraordinarily expensive project.

Since the site closed in January, English Partnerships have spent £340,000 on public relations alone to try and create a positive image for the deserted site. Maintaining the structure over this period has cost £20m.

Its decision to rent the site out to a nightclub for a New Year party for a laughable £5,000 in the light of these figures is odd, to say the least.

The question is whether the Government really believe Meridian will give Greenwich the boost it deserves, or whether it has hastily grasped the opportunity to wash its hands of a millennium PR stunt which went spectacularly wrong.

December 20, 2001 10:53