MP slams 'lucky dip' Dome deal
SOUTH NORFOLK MP Richard Bacon has criticised the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for running the competition to buy the Millennium Dome like a 'lucky dip', keeping bidders guessing as to what was really on offer.
Mr Bacon, a member of the influential Commons public accounts committee, was speaking as the committee's report into the regeneration of the Millennium Dome and its associated land was published.
A deal with Meridian Delta has now been concluded to retain the Dome until 2018, and redevelop the site.
Mr Bacon said: “This whole process has been run like a lucky dip, as no potential bidder really knew what was on offer. Information on the deal spilled out in piecemeal fashion and the failed first competition meant there was less interest in the Dome the second time around”.
The report found that the deal initially covered only the 48 acres on which the Dome stood, though 20 additional acres were available if bidders could show it was integral to their plans. Although interest in another 100 acres on the Greenwich peninsula was not discouraged, it was not advertised in order to deter developers who were not really interested in retaining the Dome.
Mr Bacon added: “It is understandable that the Government are trying to get the best deal to reuse the Dome, but the priority should now be on ensuring this deal delivers what it promises: the regeneration of the Greenwich peninsula. That was the Dome's original objective, after all”.
22 September 2005
See also:
PAC REPORT: The regeneration of the Millennium Dome
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