The Department for Culture, Media and Sport doesn't have enough money to part fund the projects. It has written to the project directors saying it cannot guarantee that the money they need will be forthcoming after discovering a £100 million black hole in its capital investment fund.
The film centre at Tate Modern on London's South Bank has already received £50 million from the government and was expecting another £50 million. It had been hoped that it would be open in time for the Olympics but that aim may now be unrealistic.
'Our capital budget is currently overcommitted. Ministers are examining the reasons for this and looking for solutions. It is possible that difficult decisions will be needed, but none has been taken yet,' said a DCMS spokeswoman. It is understood that the shortfall have been caused by a number of factors including the recession.
The extension of the British Museum is much needed as currently it is so short of space that exhibits are set up in the reading room. It was hoping for £22.5 million from the government.
It is a second blow for the £135 million project. Plans for the extension have been turned down by Camden Council despite being recommended by the planning committee. Councillors felt that the glass and stone five pavilion extension designed by architects Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners was too grandiose and dominated the adjoining buildings.
It is also a second blow for Lord Rogers whose firm's plans for Chelsea Barracks were dropped a few weeks ago by Qatari developers after it was criticised by the Prince of Wales as being too modern.
But local campaigners welcomed the decision. A spokesman for the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee which opposed the plans said that it would have 'mutilated' the area.
The plans for Stonehenge are equally controversial. One local councillor has described the proposed visitor building as looking like a detention centre.
