'£40m bill to pass on the Dome'

THE taxpayers' bill for the Dome could rise by a further £40m, it emerged today, as the mystery grew over the real level of debt surrounding the troubled east London attraction. The Greenwich site, which has consumed £628m of Lottery money and a further £200m - originally earmarked for good causes - to keep it afloat, is due to be handed over to property developers for nothing. The Government will then take a share of future profits as the land surrounding the Dome is sold over the next 25 years.

Lord Falconer, a friend of Prime Minister Tony Blair and minister with responsibility for the Dome, had been poised to make a statement today over the controversial public-private venture. But Whitehall sources were making it clear today that ministers needed a further 24 hours to consider all the details. They denied there was any last-minute hitch.

It emerged this morning that another £40m could be paid out over the Dome. British Gas's property arm, Lattice Group, is entitled to 7.5% of the land's market value under a five-year deal it struck with the Government when it handed over the land on the Greenwich peninsula in 1997. As the land is valued at about £500m, it could land the company with a £40m windfall, but that has not been included in the Government's talks with the developer Meridian Delta (MDL).

There is also the question of whether ministers will have to agree to fund a £200m river crossing linking Greenwich with east London, as a 'sweetener' for the developers. Although Lord Falconer has said that responsibility for building a crossing would lie with Mayor Ken Livingstone rather than the Government Tories and environmentalists accused him of being disingenuous. They say the Mayor has made it clear that he will go ahead with a new crossing if he receives sufficient funding from Government. Ministers can therefore bring the project to fruition simply by providing Livingstone with a sufficient grant.

The Mayor believes a new crossing is essential to assist the regeneration of east London, the Greenwich peninsula and the Thames Gateway. The need for the crossing forms part of his transport strategy and will be included in the planning blueprint to be released within the next few weeks.

Eric Ollerenshaw, the Tory deputy leader on the London Assembly, said: 'There have been so many cock-ups involving the Dome that it is now essential for the Government to come clean. The Government knows the situation full well. There is no money in the Mayor's budget to build a bridge but a crossing will be built if the Government helps to pay for it.'

Richard Bourn of Transport 2000 said Lord Falconer was misleading. 'It is rather disingenuous of the Government to say the decision on the crossing is in the Mayor's hands when funding is such a crucial issue.' He said campaigners will strongly resist any attempt to cater for more cars in preference to improvements in public transport.

The latest announcement on the Dome marks another stage in the lengthy and convoluted attempt by the Government to rid itself of the highprofile embarrassment. Two previous attempts to sell the site for £100m collapsed, as experts warned that it would be difficult to recoup public funds, even though the land is highly valuable, once Blair had decided he would not allow the Dome to be knocked down.

Under the new plan, up to 5,000 homes as well as offices and leisure facilities could go up on the Greenwich peninsula, and the Dome would be converted into an enormous sports and concert arena.