Wates has been given the job of repairing Parliament\u2019s crumbling Victora Tower after the competitive tender process for the job failed for a second time.<\/p>\n
Construction News<\/em>\u00a0revealed in April 2024 that the tender for the then-\u00a395m job had to be re-run after errors were made in documents used in the first round<\/a>.<\/p>\n But on Friday (4 April), parliamentary authorities revealed that no suitable bids were received for the project under the relaunched competitive tendering process.<\/p>\n They have now handed the job directly to Wates for \u00a3110.6m – or \u00a315.6m higher than the price published in the tender notice.<\/p>\n In their contract award notice, the authorities said: “The receipt of no suitable tenders in response to the previous open procedure was unforeseeable by the contracting authority.”<\/p>\n For reasons of “extreme urgency” the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with, they added.<\/p>\n The authorities justified their decision to follow the negotiated procedure directly with Wates, without prior publication, because the initial conditions of the contract “are not substantially altered”.<\/p>\n The scheme involves temporary works and extensive conservation and repair of the 99-metre tower, which sits above Sovereign\u2019s Gate at the south-west corner of the parliamentary estate.<\/p>\n Temporary works will include site set-up, hoardings, piling, crash deck scaffolding removal, and erecting full-height scaffolding. Steel support structures and stone cleaning will also be carried out.<\/p>\n Subsequent conservation works will include stone repairs, gilding, roof refurbishments, metalwork restoration, fire stopping, waterproofing, and reinstatement of balconies, guttering and rainwater systems.<\/p>\n The contract also covers window refurbishment, mechanical and electrical alterations, pigeon netting, and repairs to the flagpole.<\/p>\n Wates will deliver the scheme under an NEC4 ECC Option B contract with amendments and secondary clauses.<\/p>\n The 160-year-old Victoria Tower\u2019s stonework is deteriorating, with parliamentary authorities concerned about the risks of falling masonry on those working in and visiting the Palace of Westminster.<\/p>\n They warned in 2022<\/a> that exposure to cold weather and storm conditions were weakening the 99 metre-tall tower before launching early engagement on the procurement in 2022.<\/p>\n The first tender for the project was launched in May 2023. A contract was originally meant to be awarded by the end of 2023 with work completed by 2030.<\/p>\n However, bidders for the job were instructed almost a year later that the process would have to restart after concerns were raised over wording contained in documents related to the procurement process.<\/p>\n CN <\/a><\/em>later revealed<\/a> that the two procurement processes had cost the taxpayer at least \u00a31.9m.<\/p>\n Last year, the then public accounts committee chair Meg Hillier MP described the process as a “comedy of errors”.<\/p>\n “It beggars belief that we keep having cost overruns and delays. Every delay is just adding more costs.”<\/p>\n The job sits outside the wider parliamentary Restoration and Renewal programme, which has itself been hit by repeated delays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wates has been given the job of repairing Parliament\u2019s crumbling Victora Tower after the competitive tender process for the job failed for a second time. Construction News\u00a0revealed in April 2024 that the tender for the then-\u00a395m job had to be re-run after errors were made in documents used in the first round. But on Friday …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129711,"featured_media":476045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[547,565,545],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n