£10M SKY VAULT

Planners have put a £10m price tag on the Sky Vault landmark but have yet to decide where it should be located. The giant mesh tunnel design won a competition nearly two years ago to find the East Midlands version of the "Angel of the North" and the Eagle Centre hosted a consultation day where members of the public had an opportunity to express their views. Experts who have worked on the Millennium Dome and London Eye have met with the Sky Vault Consortium to discuss the practicalities of building the project (which should fill everyone with confidence).

It will be funded by the private sector (like the Dome, remember?), and business leaders in the East Midlands believe it is important for the area to have a strong regional identity. No site has yet been chosen for the structure although the team are considering building it over a major road such as the M1. The National Forest Company says it wants the 70-foot-high metal mesh tunnel built across a road that runs through its land in North Leicestershire or South Derbyshire.

Other possible sites in the East Midlands include the A1 near Newark in Nottinghamshire, the Grantham area of Lincolnshire and the M1 in Northamptonshire at Grange Park. Sky Vault was designed by Nottingham-based 2hD to span any major road in the region. The large structure which consists of a cable net, supported by steel arches, would be illuminated at night. The structure could be completed by 2006. What's the betting it will take longer than planned to construct and will cost double the £10m quoted with the taxpayer funding it?

The Millennium Dome, costing a staggering £728million, over £200million more than planned, it was supposed to be a wonder for the world to admire. The Government built it by the River Thames in Greenwich, South East London, to mark the new millennium, convinced it would be a money-spinning landmark. Decontaminating it cost £180 million and the vital Jubilee Line Tube extension was finished - £1.4billion over budget. Tickets went on sale after an opening night disaster which left VIPs stranded on a freezing station. Twelve months after it opened its doors it was gutted and it has stood empty and useless ever since.

The Millennium Bridge, spanning the Thames at a cost of £18.2million, was another famous flop. Designed by Lord Foster, it became known as the Wobbly Bridge because of vibrations caused by people just walking across it. It was closed after two days. The bridge eventually re-opened in 2002 after another £5million was thrown at it.