Bidding has opened for a £95 million contract to restore the tallest tower in the Palace of Westminster.
Victoria Tower, as part of the Palace of Westminster, is acknowledged by its Grade I listed designation and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Work is expected to begin in 2025 with an estimated delivery of February 2031.
The 98.5m-tall tower is at the south-west end of the palace site above Sovereign’s Gate.
The building fabric has deteriorated since repairs were last undertaken in the early 1990s.
The project will involve repairs to the external envelope of the tower via a full-height scaffold.
The jointly acting Corporate Officers of the House of Lords & House of Commons plan to use a NEC4 ECC Option B contract, to deliver temporary works.
Temporary works include:
- design
- site logistics
- site set up
- hoardings
- temporary electrics
- piling
- groundworks
- enabling works
- crash deck scaffolding removal
- primary steel support trusses and towers
- full scaffolding / protection
- stone cleaning
Temporary works will be followed by subsequent conservation and repair:
- stone repairs
- decorating
- gilding and other miscellaneous works
- roof (cast iron tiles and supporting structure, skylight, fall arrest system)
- windows refurbishment
- metalwork restoration
- fire stopping
- MEP and adaptions to existing MEP equipment
- waterproofing to balconies
- guttering
- rainwater pipes & leadwork
- pigeon netting
- flagpole repair works
- temporary flagpole
- removal of scaffolding and site reinstatement.
The Contracting Authority is to maintain design responsibility for all fabric related design, with the exception of specialist Contractor’s Design items which will be defined during the process.
The deadline for the bid is 23 August 2024.
The Suitability Questionnaire and ITT documentation is accessible at the Houses of Parliament’s e-procurement portal.
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