The works were originally planned to be completed on 8 September 2006 and we now expect the site to be handed over to the Houses before Christmas 2007. The building is expected to open in early 2008. An exact date will be announced in the new year.
The original cost for the visitor reception building (which was part of a wider project of works in the Westminster Hall area) stated in the business case was £8,687,500. Work started on 9 January 2006. On 1 January 2007 the estimated cost was £8,727,500. Taking into account the delay and remedial work, by 1 November 2007 the cost was estimated at £11,200,000. While this is now expected to be the total cost of the building, some additional equipment will cost up to £250,000. Professional fees for completing the project and reviewing the lessons learned may add about £1 million more to the total cost. All the costs are shared between the Commons and Lords in the proportions of 60:40.
The company which won the competition to construct the visitor reception building is William Verry Ltd. The contract was advertised under EU rules: in all 14 expressions of interest were received and six companies short-listed. Evaluation criteria used for choosing a company were:
Financial: The liquidity and/or stability of the company.
Resources: Staff with relevant experience of the roles proposed and of projects of similar extent and nature, plus reserve capacity for the company.
Experience: The company having relevant experience of similar projects in terms of content, the duties undertaken and value.
Discussions with the contractor have continued throughout. Following the appointment of a recovery project manager in the summer of 2007, the Commission approved a supplemental agreement with the contractor providing for completion of the building by 31 January 2008.
The design of the entrance ramp was included within the general scope of work performed by the consultant structural engineer, Messrs TPS Consult Ltd., who carried out an evaluation of the loading capacity of the ramp based on the current loading-capacity design guidelines for footbridges: the number of persons who may be permitted to stand on it are only limited by the available space to do so.
The design of the visitor reception building was considered in detail by the local authority and English Heritage, who were insistent the new building should not detract from the architecture of the Palace of Westminster Hall. Accordingly the ramp was not covered as to do so would have impact the view of Westminster Hall as seen from St. Margaret’s Street.
Handling of visitors in the new entrance will be managed by the visitor assistants stationed at the kiosk by St. Stephen’s. They will control access to the fast-track and normal channels, to achieve a regular flow of visitors along the ramp, and into the visitor reception building. These plans have been evaluated by the Metropolitan police and the Central Tours Office. The design and construction of the ramp are part of the original design.
The location of the visitor reception building is based on the first report from the then Accommodation and Works and Administration Committees in 2003-04 (HC 324) which was approved by the House on 12 May 2004.
With the advent of the new security search arrangements in the Visitor reception building, all visitors will enter the Palace via the North Door of Westminster Hall and exit the same way. When events occur in Westminster Hall, visitors will be received through the best available search facility. The VRB will continue to be used, and visitors will if necessary be escorted via Star Chamber Court to their destination. Alternative entry points at Portcullis House and Black Rod’s Garden will also be used.
The Metropolitan police have been involved at every stage of the project.