New report also suggests renovations may take up to 61 years, as critics say project lacks accountability
Plans to restore the crumbling Palace of Westminster could cost £40bn and take up to 61 years, a report by the body set up to investigate how the project should be handled has found.
Critics labelled the cost as “eye-watering” and said the project lacked accountability.
MPs and peers will have to choose between two new plans drawn up by the restoration and renewal client board, instead of the four previously mooted.
The first would involve a “full decant” in which the House of Commons and the House of Lords would move out of the Palace of Westminster’s Northern Estate – outside the palace but close by – and the Lords to the nearby QEII conference centre from 2032. The board estimates this option would last 19 to 24 years and cost up to £15.6bn.
