Since 2019, all investment on R&R has been based on activities required to prepare for the main works. 

Significant investment in planning for R&R has included:

• Developing a 3D digital model of the Palace to map survey data, help plan construction techniques virtually, and rehearse complex installations.
• UK-wide engagement, with 100+ organisations and businesses attending 13 market engagement roundtables held across every UK nation and region of England.
• 100,000+ hours of intrusive building surveys work in 320 Palace locations, including drone surveys and boreholes to understand ground conditions.
• Recording details of 8000+ heritage items such as artworks and furniture. Producing 1,750 technical reports and studies on Palace services and systems.
• Finalising cost estimates for the options.  
• Planning of temporary water, power, heating, drainage systems across the Palace during work to ensure services are in place to support construction works and essential operation of business areas across the estate where necessary.

The two House Commissions have made clear that the R&R Programme does not preclude Parliament's in-house teams carrying out essential maintenance, repairs and other necessary work to the Palace before the main restoration works begin. This has allowed in-house teams to make progress on tasks including repairs to stonework, roofs and the Victoria Tower, and other earlier major projects including the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower.

Types of Surveys

To date the R&R Programme has spent thousands of hours carrying out over 90 different types of survey to understand the make-up, condition, underlying ground conditions and functionality of the Palace.

For each on-site survey, there is a complex discovery process that precedes it, starting with an outline scope, which then leads on to desk studies, such as researching historical archives, and non-intrusive surveys. Non-intrusive surveys can include site walkarounds and visual data gathering, as well as making requests of Parliament for information that they may already hold relating to the proposed site. A breadth of multi-disciplinary experts in design, engineering, conservation and construction are consulted along the way and if further information is required, a detailed scope is produced in preparation for the intrusive survey.

Photogrammetric

Through the use of drones, this survey produces a comprehensive and detailed photographic record of all of the external facades and roofs of the Palace of Westminster. By recording the current condition of the Palace’s exterior, we can develop repair strategies, to inform early design proposals for R&R.

Ground Investigations

By drilling boreholes, we can gather critical data on stratigraphy and groundwater conditions of the Palace, which is fundamental in helping us predict ground movements when R&R works begin. This allows us to lay down strategies to prevent excessive distortion to the structure of the Palace, and to decide which construction techniques we will need to use when the main works begin.

Vibration Monitoring

Heritage assets, stonework and other aspects of the building fabric are vulnerable to the impact of vibration, particularly the kind generated in construction work which is repetitive and cumulative across an extended period of time. This can increase the rate of deterioration of these fundamental parts of the Palace. This survey enables us to establish a baseline to develop tolerance thresholds, all of which will inform future construction methodology.

Building Intrusive Surveys

Building intrusive surveys involve removing and sampling bricks and mortar to understand more about their condition and composition. More than 150 spaces across the Palace have been subject to these checks.