Deloitte Real Estate, HOK and AECOM have been appointed to create a report showing the feasibility and costs of three potential options for the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, London. Supported by Skanska, David Bonnett Associates and MFD International, the team will examine the cost, timescale, risks and benefits of three options:
1. continuing repairs and replacement of the fabric and systems of the Palace over an indefinite period of time
2. a defined, rolling programme of more substantial repairs and replacement over a long period, but still working around continued use of the Palace
3. scheduling the works over a more concentrated period, with parliamentary activities moved elsewhere to allow unrestricted access to the Palace for the delivery of the works
The Palace of Westminster is a Grade I listed building in a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is in gross need of restoration works. Constructed during the Middle Ages, the Palace of Westminster is the meeting point of the House of Commons and House of Lords, situated on the banks of the River Thames.
In a written statement to both Houses, John Thurso MP, Spokesman for the House of Commons Commission, and Lord Sewel, Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords, announced: “The Palace will require very significant renovation in the years to come. The Commission and the House Committee recognised in 2012 that doing nothing is not an option.
"They accept their responsibilities as custodians of a great iconic building and the need to ensure its future. Selection of a preferred way forward is expected to occur during the course of the next Parliament, not this one.
“The contract for the IOA will set a maximum price of £2,019,295 and a fixed price (which may be lower but not higher) will be agreed two months into the contract once the consultants have become familiar with the extensive survey work already done on the Palace.”
The competition for this scheme was published by WAN's Business Information Service and can be viewed here.