The world鈥檚 largest medical research charity, the Wellcome Trust, is making a bid to transform London鈥檚 Millennium Dome into a new biomedical research base, according to reports. However, health and safety regulations would prevent the Trust from turning the Dome itself into laboratory space.
The Trust is thought to have offered 拢300 million, which includes funds for redeveloping the Dome and surrounding land. Officially, the Trust will say only that it is considering the 127-acre site in south-east London.
The Dome costs 拢1 million a month to maintain. But the Trust has assets worth 拢15 billion, and spends hundreds of millions of pounds on research every year.
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Simon Tarpey, director of the London Biotechnology Network, a support organisation for biotech companies, says there is a 鈥渉uge demand鈥� for bioscience research space in the capital. But he says the tent-like Dome building could not hold laboratories.
鈥淏ecause the Dome is enclosed, they wouldn鈥檛 be able to refilter air properly 鈥� it would be contrary to health and safety regulations,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey would have to build the research facilities on surrounding land.鈥�
The Dome has been empty since January this year. It cost an estimated 拢850 million to build, and drew only six million visitors in the year it was open 鈥� half the number originally predicted.
The Japanese bank Nomura pulled out of a bid last September, claiming it had not been fully informed about the Dome鈥檚 financial problems.
Other current bidders are thought to include Quintain, a group with plans to turn the site into a theme park.
Potential buyers are now in talks with Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the government minister with responsibility for the Dome. There is no set timetable for the submission of bids or a sale.