Spinnaker Opens Five Years Late

Spinnaker Opens Five Years Late
Just like the Opera House and Millennium Wheel before it, the statuesque tower's construction has not been without controversy, delays and overspending.

Due to open for the Millennium, the project is five years late, has cost �36m and left the taxpayer footing a bill of more than �11m.

When it was commissioned by city councillors the public was promised it would not have to pay a penny and that the bill would be met by lottery funding.

Built to encourage greater tourism in and around Portsmouth, the tower depicts a billowing sail and stands at 170m (558ft) - it is the UK's tallest public building outside London.

There are three public viewing decks, Europe's largest glass floor and a glass external lift, which caused most of the recent delays to the tower's opening date because of safety doubts.

Other problems have included unfounded fears over the concrete used, a highly-critical report into the council's handling of the project and lost revenue opportunities.

In 2004, council leader Leo Madden resigned over the delays and spiralling costs, while a council legal adviser, Barry Smith, retired after being suspended on full pay.

There have also been problems with security - a fathers' rights campaigner and a base-jumper have both successfully targeted the building.

So has the Spinnaker tower left a