{"id":893133,"date":"2026-03-21T02:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T07:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/experts-find-15-of-palace-of-westminster-spaces-contain-asbestos\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T02:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T07:12:15","slug":"experts-find-15-of-palace-of-westminster-spaces-contain-asbestos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/experts-find-15-of-palace-of-westminster-spaces-contain-asbestos\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts find 15% of Palace of Westminster spaces contain asbestos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Asbestos will be an important issue during the restoration of the Palace of Westminster after reports revealed 15 per cent of the building\u2019s spaces are affected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Experts also discovered more <\/span>reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete<\/span><\/a> (RAAC) \u2013 a historical building material that has exceeded its lifespan and which can pose structural safety risks \u2013 at the Grade I-listed complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a Westminster committee meeting yesterday (19 March), representatives from the<\/span> palace\u2019s <\/span>restoration and renewal teams<\/span><\/a> updated MPs ahead of a debate on pushing ahead with the \u00a33bn first phase of renovations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) were told that asbestos would be an issue after the latest reports showed 620 of the palace\u2019s 3,999 spaces were identified as containing asbestos, mainly in the basement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spaces are distinct from rooms, and include many spaces behind walls, above ceilings, under floors, in stairwells, corridors, and service areas. The basement\u2019s large footprint is divided into many smaller spaces for location mapping; these spaces are not conventional rooms. <\/p>\n

The warning came ahead of procurement for the first phase of work, which is due to begin later this year, with a target to appoint many of the \u201cstrategic partners\u201d in 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russ MacMillan, chief executive of the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority \u2013 the body responsible for designing, planning and managing the refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament \u2013 said his team would \u201cnot definitively know\u201d the extent of the issue until they moved into each zone and took the fabric off the walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have done set sampling surveys and have estimated the quantity of asbestos on that basis: there are 90,000 square metres of coatings,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes asbestos is best left but when we need to remove services it is often around them and the whole thing needs to be removed as an asbestos-contained material.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023<\/span><\/a>, the PAC had estimated that asbestos was present in 2,500 areas of the parliamentary buildings and that its removal would require 300 people working for two-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Simmonds, managing director of the Restoration and Renewal Client Team \u2013 which oversees, instructs and holds to account the Delivery Authority \u2013 told yesterday\u2019s committee hearing that more RAAC had also been found.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 2023 report identified 16 areas of RAAC, predominantly in the upper committee corridor and T-block of the Houses of Parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2025, as the surveys continued, we found six additional areas in the north block and have mitigated it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an in-house project in place to rectify it but the main structural works will come through the restoration and renewal programme.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month<\/span><\/a>, parliament\u2019s Restoration and Renewal Client Board \u2013 which is made up of members of the Commons and Lords, and is responsible for making critical strategic choices and recommendations relating to the restoration \u2013 announced that the first phase of work would hopefully begin this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday, the committee was told this phase would take seven years, with planning expected to be submitted in 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, MacMillan warned that if the planning process hit stumbling blocks, then each year of delay could cost up to \u00a3250m with inflationary costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phase one of the scheme will include the construction of temporary chambers and office space, as well as a river jetty for material delivery and spoil removal.<\/span><\/p>\n

PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown raised concerns that the proposed costs and level of work were \u201cnot going to be delivered\u201d, and called for a \u201cclearly articulated vision\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The start of work is conditional on approval from the House of Commons and House of Lords.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simmonds said: \u201cWe need direction and decision to move forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s report presented two options for the full refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n

One was for a full temporary relocation of MPs and peers to enable works to take place over 19 to 24 years, at an inflation-adjusted cost of up to \u00a315.6bn.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other would see phased work dividing the palace into 14 zones, meaning no more than 30 per cent of the building would be out of use at any one time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report said this option would take 38 to 61 years and cost up to \u00a339.2bn, including inflation.<\/span><\/p>\n

MPs will be asked to debate and vote on the proposals. The client board has recommended that a final decision is taken no later than 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Nicola Harley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asbestos will be an important issue during the restoration of the Palace of Westminster after reports revealed 15 per cent of the building\u2019s spaces are affected. Experts also discovered more reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) \u2013 a historical building material that has exceeded its lifespan and which can pose structural safety risks \u2013 at the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":893134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4371,4580],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-893133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-experts","8":"category-palace"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}