Houses of Parliament £7 billion repairs?

The Houses of Parliament are falling down, and require urgent restoration.

The estimated cost is likely to be £7 Billion.

Are they worth it?

Personally I think they are very much a relic of the past, and not fit for purpose in the 21st century. Trying to bring them up to date as a working environment will either destroy the interiors, or be prohibitively expensive.

Restore them if you must as a tourist attraction, but build a new place for the MPs to work.

The cost was double that if they tried to keep people there while work continues wasn't it???

I agree with Anna, they need to be restored obviously as it's a major part of our History - but they should also take the chance to move into a more modern, purpose built place fit for the 21st century.

They could then open up Westminster as a major tourist attraction.

The Houses of Parliament are falling down, and require urgent restoration.

 

The estimated cost is likely to be £7 Billion.

 

Are they worth it?

 

Personally I think they are very much a relic of the past, and not fit for purpose in the 21st century. Trying to bring them up to date as a working environment will either destroy the interiors, or be prohibitively expensive.

 

Restore them if you must as a tourist attraction, but build a new place for the MPs to work.

When you say urgent, do you mean work needs to be carried out over a 32 year period?

Also the BBC quotes the price as being £5.7 billion repairs of the grade one listed building. The quoted price of £7 billion assumes maximum risk and inflation levels and applies to the most expensive of the options put forward, if the MPs and peers were moved out for six years, the cost would drop to £3.5bn.

Would you imagine a similar debate over the Capital Building in Washington?

I'm no builder, but the £7bn did strike me as pretty astronomical when I heard it on the news last night (initially I thought I misheard!) And still so at the 'optimistic' £3.5bn.

I mean...really? Have all the bogs in the building got to be made out of solid gold?

Would you imagine a similar debate over the Capital Building in Washington?

But £7billions? 7,000 millions?

You can guarantee the costs will soar.

MPs snouts will well and truly be oiled and pockets filled.

Definately an enquiry on completion,as to why the final bill will be 89zillion pounds.

Oh and a good chance of costs rising due to having to remove rare bat with one wing and suffering from alcoholism.

I'm no builder, but the £7bn did strike me as pretty astronomical when I heard it on the news last night (initially I thought I misheard!) And still so at the 'optimistic' £3.5bn.

 

I mean...really? Have all the bogs in the building got to be made out of solid gold?

I get your point, completely. And subscribe fully to the 'pay peanuts, get monkeys' logic.

 

But £7billions? 7,000 millions?

 

Look at the cost of knocking it down, bulldozing the rubble and then building the *exact* same thing there to the same details.

It won't be £3.5bn. It'll be way way way less....

But becuase it's a *listed* building, it has to be repaired to the same standards using historical methods... and the craftsmen doing that are on the gravy train.... and it takes a lot longer and is less productive and....

Sometimes you wonder if a listed building is worth it. I mean, whats the difference between a stone column quarried in the 1830's loving restored with lime mortar mixed with organic beeswax and skimmed on. and a stone column that was freshly quarried about six minutes ago?

Bog all really. It's still a stone.

But becuase it's a *listed* building, it has to be repaired to the same standards using historical methods... and the craftsmen doing that are on the gravy train.... and it takes a lot longer and is less productive and....

 

Sometimes you wonder if a listed building is worth it. I mean, whats the difference between a stone column quarried in the 1830's loving restored with lime mortar mixed with organic beeswax and skimmed on. and a stone column that was freshly quarried about six minutes ago?

 

Bog all really. It's still a stone.

You do know where the stone for Westminster come from, right? Anston quarry. Yes, the S25 one.

More commuting misery to come, then

Well I can think of an immediate use for HS2 and blocks of stone :-)

It doesn't matter much. Didn't the tories pull 8 billion or something out of their arses to throw at the NHS? They'll just use some of that.

It doesn't matter much. Didn't the tories pull 8 billion or something out of their arses to throw at the NHS? They'll just use some of that.

£5.7b over 32 years wouldn't take much off any departments budget.

When you say urgent, do you mean work needs to be carried out over a 32 year period?

I suspect there are urgent and non urgent repairs that are cheaper to undertake if done at the same time.

Another cost issue will be the security, I guess that it will be an absolute nightmare to ensure the secure is maintained during the refurbishment. We're not just talking about guarding against attacks during the refurbishment, but also setting up attacks after the work is done.

Wasn't the Brighton bomb planted a month or so before the attack on the PM?