Palace of Westminster: underground works included in mooted £3bn first phase

Parliament’s Restoration and Renewal Client Board has published its report ‘Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals’

The Palace of Westminster, which houses the UK Parliament, is in need of substantial repair.

The report marks significant progress towards securing the future of the home of the United Kingdom’s Parliament. The Palace of Westminster is not only a place of work for thousands of people and a destination for more than a million visitors every year, but also the heart of centuries-old democracy.

In its report, the Client Board fully recognises the need for the restoration and renewal of this great building, which is known across the world. It also states that a decision is needed now on starting restoration work.

Most of the building dates from the Victorian era, although some parts are much older. Over the decades, its fabric and its services have deteriorated and require substantial repair or replacement, to such an extent that putting off these major works is no longer sustainable.

In this economic climate, the Client Board is all too aware of the very high costs involved in an infrastructure programme of this scale, complexity and duration. For this reason, the programme will continue to have due regard to any advice from the National Audit Office, Public Accounts Committee, and HM Treasury.

But, the report continues, the restoration and renewal programme will bring significant economic benefits, supporting thousands of jobs and apprenticeships, and unlocking opportunities for businesses, from modern construction specialists to traditional craftspeople, in every nation and every region of the UK.

For these reasons, the Client Board is recommending a way forward that recognises the need to protect this heritage landmark, to deliver vital improvements to services, accessibility and safety, whilst meeting its obligation to UK taxpayers to proceed with this national endeavour in the most financially responsible and pragmatic way possible.

Phase one works

This includes the recommendation to both Houses to agree initial phase one works over seven years, capped at £3 billion. This work would commence in 2026 and include building temporary Chamber(s) and office space to support future moves, preparations for the restoration of the medieval Cloister Court, interior refurbishment of Victoria Tower, starting underground construction, and building a river jetty for construction deliveries, all in order to build momentum and provide a strong foundation for later phases of the Programme.

This is a pragmatic way forward in line with emerging best practice, the report states. It takes relevant lessons from major programmes to build in certainty for Parliament to make its statutory decision with the benefit of more detailed and robust estimates.

Reducing the delivery options

The Client Board also recommends that now is the time to reduce the number of long-term delivery options to two to bear down on costs and enable further focused development of the ‘full decant’ and ‘enhanced maintenance and improvement+ (EMI+)’ options while the phase one works get underway. This will give members of both Houses a genuine choice between two options with differing approaches to decant when they are asked to make a final decision, no later than 2030, on the preferred model for delivering the full restoration of the building.

The Client Board has made an appeal to all those involved. “As Parliamentarians and custodians of this historic symbol of our nation, we must make a decision to get on with this work to safeguard the future of Parliament’s home,” it urged.

“Surveys consistently show the British public expect us to restore the building. We have a duty to them, to all those who work in and visit Parliament, and above all to future generations to act now to prevent the gradual and costly managed decline of a building that is a beacon of democracy and precious asset to our country.”