Sustainability standards
The Palace of Westminster, home to the House of Commons and House of Lords, is one of the world’s most recognised buildings and is part of an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site has been the home of Parliament since medieval times, with the current building completed in the mid-1800s after fire destroyed the previous palace. The palace is now in need of significant work to replace outdated plumbing and wiring, to address the risk of fire and flooding, to conserve crumbling stonework, and to meet modern standards of accessibility. In 2018 MPs and Lords agreed to undertake an extensive renovation of the building with the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme was established to deliver this work.
Ahead of work on the Palace, improvements will be made to buildings on Parliament’s Northern Estate: a group of historic listed buildings around Parliament Street and Whitehall which provide office accommodation and other facilities for MPs and staff. These buildings also need significant work to conserve their historic features, and to bring them up to modern standards. This work will need to be completed before the Palace of Westminster undergoes its restoration.
