黑洞社区

A consultant is being hired to oversee redevelopment of the Department of Health鈥檚 headquarters to become a new temporary home of parliament while a multibillion-pound renovation is carried out.

Under the plans, the 1980s building - which is a stone鈥檚 throw away from the Palace of Westminster - could be in line for a 拢240m refurbishment to accommodate MPs.

A briefing note issued by the Palace of Westminster last month, seen by 黑洞社区, states the Palace could appoint a combined project manager and quantity surveyor on the project as early as this month.

Separate documents show the Department of Health is willing to relocate to another building elsewhere in Westminster and hand over Richmond House while the palace is overhauled.

Richmond House, which was completed in 1987 and is located at 79 Whitehall, is now favoured as MPs鈥� new home because it offers 12% more floor space than other alternatives, which include a government building at 7 Millbank, and can also be redeveloped to include a sitting chamber.

The Richmond House works are contingent on business case approval, but could start on site in early 2018 and take up to six years to complete.

Last summer a report by a team of independent consultants said asking MPs and peers to move out of the Palace of Westminster would be the cheapest option to overhaul it.

The team, which included Aecom and HOK, put the cost of MPs and peers moving out and carrying out 鈥渟ome improvements鈥� over six years at 拢3.5bn. Getting them to move out and carrying out 鈥渟ignificant improvements鈥� over the same period was expected to cost 拢400m more.

The most expensive option is to fit work around MPs and peers remaining at the building with a rolling programme of work put at 拢5.7bn over 32 years.

Allies and Morrison, BDP, Foster + Partners and HOK have been shortlisted for architectural work on the Palace of Westminster, while Aecom and Mace, Capita and Gleeds, CH2M, Arcadis and Turner & Townsend have been shortlisted for programme, project and cost management services.

Meanwhile, the Palace of Westminster鈥檚 contracting authority Parliament UK has begun tendering for three consultancy frameworks worth a combined 拢68m.

These frameworks will cover project management, cost management and multidisciplinary design services for major works and building surveying services for minor works. Four consultants will be appointed to each framework.

This framework will not be awarded until October this year, suggesting the Richmond House role is being procured separately.