Five revelations from Tony Blair's files as the Millennium Dome could have moved to Swindon

The Millennium Dome could have been moved to Swindon as part of a plan presented to then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, newly released files reveal today.

As the Labor government debated what to do with the landmark, they were offered a surprise solution: move it to Wiltshire, according to declassified documents.

In early 2001, ministers were eager to unload the £789m structure on the Greenwich Peninsula.

The Dome was widely seen as an expensive white elephant, with the much-vaunted Millennium Experience it hosted attracting barely half of the projected 12 million visitors.

But as they searched for offers, ministers and advisers were presented with a particularly eye-catching proposal: uproot the whole thing from south-east London and rebuild it in Wiltshire.

Documents released today at the National Archives in Kew, west London, show the plan was devised by Lindsay Sharp, then director of the science museum.

Photos of the stone-faced queen holding hands with her prime minister as he and his wife Cherie sang Auld Lang Syne have been released around the world (

Picture:

Getty Images)

In a letter to the Prime Minister he suggested it could be repurposed to house a new museum on a former military airfield at Wroughton - where flying ended in 1972 - on the outskirts of Swindon.

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"I am writing to you about a completely different and exciting possibility for the Dome," he enthused.

"This proposal presents a unique range of features at a time when these features can, together, provide a unique solution to the Dome's challenges."

It could, he suggested, house “a major new public installation devoted to interactivity and immersively showcasing the latest practical aspects and sustainability research” – while freeing up valuable Greenwich site for lucrative redevelopment.

Mr. Sharp happily admitted that he was unsure if the plan – involving moving a Richard Rogers-designed structure 1,200 feet (365 meters) in diameter and 170 feet (52 meters) high – was actually feasible.

"This is a 'big concept' approach and would require rapid and detailed assessment," he wrote.