Victoria Tower Fabric Safety Works 2025

Description

Victoria Tower, as part of the Palace of Westminster, is a world-renowned heritage asset. Acknowledged by its Grade I listed designation and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Victoria Tower is 325 ft tall and is sited above Sovereign's Gate at the south-west end of the Palace site. The Tower was originally designed as a royal entrance and a repository for the records of Parliament and is currently home to the Parliamentary Archives although these are in the process of being moved elsewhere. Significant repairs were last undertaken to Victoria Tower in the early 1990s. The building fabric has deteriorated in the intervening period, and it is now necessary to undertake repairs to the external envelope of Victoria Tower via a full-height scaffold. Parliament is exercising their duty of care to prevent future deterioration of the building fabric as custodians of this Grade I Listed asset and to maintain a safe and secure environment in and around the Palace of Westminster. This notice relates to the Contracting Authority's intention to appoint a contractor under NEC4 ECC Option B contract (with secondary clauses and amendments), to deliver temporary works, and subsequent conservation and repair work, to the Victoria Tower. Lot 1: The Contracting Authority, acting jointly with the Corporate Officers of the House of Lords, previously invited suppliers to participate in an open tender process for provision of works in relation to the Victoria Tower Fabric Safety Project (Contract Notice ref: 2024/S 000-019847). No suitable tenders were submitted under that open procedure and the contracting authority now intends to award a contract to Wates Construction Limited under the negotiated procedure without prior publication. The proposed contract is a NEC4 ECC Option B contract, to deliver temporary works and subsequent conservation and repair work, to the Victoria Tower. The temporary works includes design, site logistics, site set up, hoardings, temporary electrics, piling, groundworks, enabling works, crash deck scaffolding removal, primary steel support trusses and towers, full scaffolding / protection, and stone cleaning. The subsequent conservation and repair scope of works includes: stone repairs, decorating, gilding and other miscellaneous works, roof (cast iron tiles and supporting structure, skylight, fall arrest system), windows refurbishment, metalwork restoration, fire stopping, MEP and adaptions to existing MEP equipment, waterproofing to balconies, guttering, rainwater pipes & leadwork, pigeon netting, flagpole repair works, temporary flagpole, removal of scaffolding and site reinstatement.