Price for job soars by 拢15.6m after two botched competitions
Wates has been handed a 拢111m job to restore Parliament鈥檚 grade I-listed Victoria Tower following two botched tender processes.
The firm has been appointed under a negotiated procedure instead of an open competition out of 鈥渆xtreme urgency鈥�, according to Parliament, as repairing the crumbling tower is considered a 鈥渟afety critical project鈥�.
黑洞社区 understands Wates is expected to sign the deal in mid-May.
A tender for the scheme, which had been due to start last year, was originally put out in 2023 but withdrawn after concerns were raised over its wording.
A second tender process launched last year with firms Wates and Sir Robert McAlpine understood to have been vying for the job after both Bam and Lendlease opted not to bid.
But this competition also failed with Parliament saying in a contract award notice that it had received 鈥渘o suitable tenders鈥�.
鈥淎s a result, the contracting authority now intends to award a contract to Wates Construction Limited under the negotiated procedure without prior publication,鈥� Parliament said.
It added that the receipt of no suitable tenders to the open procedure had been 鈥渦nforeseeable by the contracting authority鈥�.
The cost of the work has also gone up by 拢15.6m from the 拢95m priced last year.
The work, which is not part of the wider Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, involves repairing the tower鈥檚 masonry, windows, cast-iron roof, rainwater drainage and flagpole.
The stonework has deteriorated to such an extent that a crash deck has been installed around part of the tower to make sure people below are not hit by falling masonry.
The last significant repairs were completed more than 30 years ago in the early 1990s.
The tower was finished in 1860 and sits at the south-west corner of the Palace of Westminster. It is around 2m taller than the Elizabeth Tower.
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