Bill for Big Ben repair doubles to £61million

‘A staggering increase’

THE cost of controversial repair work to Big Ben has doubled to £ 61million, it was announced last night.

Officials admitted that miscalculations had caused the bill for the fouryear project to spiral from its £29million estimate.

The announcement follows a furore over plans to silence Big Ben until 2021 because of health and safety fears.

Parliament said it was ‘disappointed’ with the rise in cost and the ‘unreliability’ of the original estimate.

Contractors have found the ground conditions more difficult than expected. The reglazing of the clock faces are also thought to be more complex than first thought.

Last night Labour MP Stephen Pound, who was furious at the silencing of the clock, said: ‘There are some serious questions to be answered.

‘If they can’t get that right then how can we have any confidence in the bill for the whole building?

‘It’s the worst parliamentary cost overrun since the last cost overrun and slipping the information out late on a wet Friday evening suggests to me someone is aware the impact this will have in the age of austerity.’ Tory MP Nigel Evans called it a ‘staggering increase’.

Renovation work, signed off by a Commission chaired by Commons Speaker John Bercow, includes installing a lift that goes only part way up the 315ft Elizabeth Tower – which houses the bell known as Big Ben.

As part of the project, the Great Clock will be dismantled and parts removed for examination and repair. The four dials will be cleaned, the glass repaired and the hands removed and refurbished.

In a statement, the clerk of the House of Commons, the clerk of the Parliaments and the director general of the Commons said they acknowledged ‘estimating failures’.

‘ Subsequent estimates, using better data and more extensive surveys, better reflect the true likelihood of the costs,’ they added.

‘We believe we now have a more accurate estimate of the costs of the works and will report regularly to the committees on the progress of the work.’

There was uproar when it was revealed the bells would be silenced for four years while the refurbishment of Elizabeth Tower took place.

The Mail revealed how MPs called for a review after it emerged they had no idea they had signed off the plan. The bells, which fell silent in August, will only chime at New Year and Remembrance Day for the next four years.