Parliament renovations ‘could cost nearly £6bn’
A report on renovations at the Palace of Wesminster says they could cost £5.7bn and take around 32 years to complete – but if MPs moved out of the Commons, it would cost less than £4bn.
Michael Crick speaks to Adam Watrobski, parliament’s principal architect
A panel of experts has drawn up a series of options for carrying out the work, following warnings the Palace of Westminster may have to be abandoned altogether unless it undergoes major renovation.
The work needed is so extensive that Commons Speaker John Bercow has warned that the final bill could come to £3bn.
But today’s “independent options appraisal” (IOA), carried out by a consortium of experts, identifies three delivery options – the slowest and most expensive of which could take up to 32 years and cost £5.7bn.
Under the rolling programme of repairs, parliament would remain in occupation of the buildings, with the palace divided into 12 zones, each to be renovated in turn.
The first alternative involves a partial evacuation, with the Commons and then the Lords moving to temporary accommodation. It is estimated this option would take 11 years and cost between £3.9bn and £4.4bn.
The third and cheapest option would see a full move out of the palace by both houses. The report says it “would take the least time and would avoid disruption to parliament from construction work”. It estimates this would cost between £3.5bn and £3.9bn and last six years.
If MPs do agree to leave, it would mean relocating to another venue such as the nearby Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre or Westminster Central Hall.
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‘Difficult challenges ahead’
Many MPs are reluctant to depart, and Commons leader Chris Grayling said last week that the building remained “a vital heart to our democracy”.
“There are some interesting and difficult challenges ahead, some difficult decisions to take,” he told MPs.
It is important that this building remains consistently at the heart of our democracy. Chris Grayling, leader of the Commons
“But I would say to the house that instinctively I think it is important that this building remains consistently at the heart of our democracy and that we don’t end up being forced to move somewhere else.”
The restoration required is so vast because of the piecemeal way repairs have been carried out since the 1940s, when the Palace of Westminster was bombed by the Nazis.
A report in 2012 found crumbling stonework, iron roofs rusting and leaking and toilets that flooded, while the building is stuffed with asbestos.
The current building was largely constructed in the 1840s and 1850s after the previous Palace of Westminster burned down in a fire in 1834 and is now a world heritage site.