Crumbling Westminster = £3bn +. What should we do ? Poll..

[Chimune]

Update here:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/02/jo...

Bercow said:
“Yet I will tell you in all candour that unless management of the very highest quality and a not inconsequential sum of public money are deployed on this estate over the next ten years that [moving out of the building] will be the outcome.”

“management of the very highest quality" & £3bn..... neither are available at the moment. So lets just do it properly and build a new parliament.....

[Du1point8]

Someone has started petitioning moving everyone to Hull and making the whole place for affordable housing and for DSS.

Not sure where I am on that one, one of the most recognised places in the world going for affordable housing or the fact they think letting DSS in there is a good thing.

[Tyre Tread]

Get Starbucks, Amazon et al to pay their UK taxes and take the costs out of that or at least cut them a deal that if they pay for the renovations they won't be chased for it.

[Moonhawk]

I'd build a new parliament elsewhere in the country (somewhere central) - and turn the existing building into a combination hotel/offices/museum/art gallery.

There is no reason parliament has to be located in London - especially if the building is no longer fit for that purpose.

[FrankAbagnale]

Absolute pie in the sky post, but....

A quick Google says the palace is 900,000 sq/ft in size.

Looking at a very quick comp in the area it seems that £1600 per sq ft for a 2 bed new build apartment is the going rate.

I would imagine that it would take a fair few years to build and with London prices on the increase and the fact it is an iconic building £2200 psf wouldn't be unachievable on a re-sale basis.

So... the GDV of the site when finished could be £1,980,000,000.

I imagine it would be impossible, but if a developer could get the rights to smash it about and make apartments the site may be worth around 40% of the GDV = £792,000,000. Maybe less as the build cost could be horrendous.

The European Parliament in today's money cost £341,000,000 to build
The Welsh National Assembly building cost £70,000,000

I would think a new UK Parliament would vary from £120,000,000 to £250,000,000 (absolute pie in the sky again) depending on location. I would hazard a guess it would be almost impossible to find a site in central London.

I don't really know where I am going with this now... it just started rolling.

But, lets sell for £792m, build a new parliament for £200m and keep £500m in the bank. That will be enough money to run the NHS for 3 days - as a trade off we lose the Palace of Westminster to a developer to make a load of money and give 40% to social housing.

I think i'd rather keep the appreciating asset we have and commit to a large annual budget for restoration and upkeep tendered for by private companies in an open bid environment. It also preserves our history, which is priceless. Oh, and the benefit of tourism.. value on that?

N.B - all figures gathered from a 30 second Google, comparisons used not yet sold, I know little about the London market and nothing of commercial/parliament build costs.

[Du1point8]

They could sell it or the State could keep the freehold and sell the leasehold only.

Guaranteed money earner for years to come.

[FredClogs]

Build a new one, somewhere in the Midlands, there must be some land around Coventry that would be suitable. Slap a listed preservation order on the old building and then sell it to a developer who is bound to keep the outside looking the same.

Job done.

[anonymous-user]

Build a new one anywhere you like, just make it much smaller. No more than 200 seats in both houses.

[Gargamel]

Pay the money, do it properly.

I don't have an issue with it. There is a heritage and tradition to Parliament that we over look at our peril.

Whilst cynics will says it gives MPs delusion of their own importance.

I also believe it conveys the gravitas and responsibility of the role of MP. The traditions are a part of the way our democracy functions, and its rules and customs.



Separately and I understand it isn't common knowledge, there is a considerable amount of Asbestos in there.

[smegmore]

REALIST123 said:

Build a new one anywhere you like, just make it much smaller. No more than 200 seats in both houses.

Build it in Bradford.

Think of the future.

[Pothole]

AJS- said:

My clever joke answer:

Stop employing ridiculously expensive consultants and experts to do everything like this. Looking here the most expensive building in the world is the impressive Marina Sands complex in Singapore, with 3 linked towers and over 2500 rooms, which cost $4.7 billion, or about £3bn including buying the land. How on earth can they arrive at such a ridiculous number to restore a stone building?

The wallpaper in some rooms is hand block printed and costs £000s per roll. Stone masons with the skills to do a proper job are few and far between. I believe it would be money well spent and some of it could easily be clawed back by charging people entry and opening more of it for that purpose. It's already a huge tourist draw as anyone who has tried to walk past it on a high season weekend will attest.

[dxg]

mrpurple said:

Could always get the French / Chinese involved I'm sure they would help get a new one built.

Hell, why not get the Chinese to turn out a quick copy? It worked fine with Tower Bridge:


Problem solved.

[McWigglebum4th]

REALIST123 said:

Build a new one anywhere you like, just make it much smaller. No more than 200 seats in both houses.

No build a new one but much much bigger

at least 10,000 seats per chamber

And then anyone who wants to become an MP can become one


But here is the clever bit

Make all the doors in only

[Camoradi]

No doubt it will be completed the day before they devolve all power to the regions and vacate the place. Forward thinking from MPs, no chance.

[Moulder]

FrankAbagnale said:

N.B - all figures gathered from a 30 second Google, comparisons used not yet sold, I know little about the London market and nothing of commercial/parliament build costs.

You sound perfect for the role, when can you start?

[williamp]

The Recent programmE showed what a state its Jn. As an iconic building for government, none is greater anywhere in thd world.

You cant develop it for housing, as nobody wznts to live with the bell ringing every hour. And every camra pointing at you during new years eve,...

It could be a museum, buT the real estate cost wouldbd unviable.

In the current Climate, no politician would ever suggest spending 3bn on themselves, so nothing will bd done.

Yet they must spend the cash. But they MUST run it as a private sector operation, with no cost or time overun, properly future proofed for technology and securty, Dda complient andfit for a 21stcentury goverment.
the scotush parluament it should not be..

[The Don of Croy]

After the opulent spend on Portcullis House a new HoP budget could yet outstrip deep space travel.

[jeff m2]

Sell it to the US so they can park it next to London Bridge in Arizona.
Regarding the occupants.
Relocate them to that big Dildo building.

[Moonhawk]

jeff m2 said:

Relocate them to that big Dildo building.

Alex Salmond's house isn't nearly big enough

[paulrussell]

FredClogs said:

Build a new one, somewhere in the Midlands, there must be some land around Coventry that would be suitable. Slap a listed preservation order on the old building and then sell it to a developer who is bound to keep the outside looking the same.

Job done.

I expect it would cost more, as first you've go to figure out how big you want the new Parliament to be, find suitable land, hire several architects, decide which architect has the best plans, hire that architect, buy some suitable land, put a tender out for construction, decide which construction company has the best tender, hire that construction company, and that's just taken 10-15 years to get that far for the price of £1.5 billion.

Then once it's built for the price of £6 billion - once they've sold the old Parliament for £800 million, MP's realise it's in a rubbish location as it takes a couple of hours for members of the Government to get to the new Parliament from London, so the Government decides to stop coming to Parliament as the travelling wastes too much time. MP's will then look for somewhere in London to put Parliament, they decide they liked the location of the old Parliament. They then start negotiations to buy back the Palace of Westminster, which they succeed in doing for the cost of £2 billion, MP's then spend £7 billion refurbishing the new new Parliament as it was in the process in being converted to flats. 40 years after deciding to build a new Parliament, MP's return to the new new Parliament after agreeing the sale of the new Parliament for £2 billion. So after spending £6.2 billion on 2 new Parliaments, the public demand the MP's to put into law that Parliament can never be moved away from the city the Government is in.