Parliament revamp could cost £40bn and take 61 years

英国议会大楼翻修可能耗资400亿英镑,耗时61年


(Sewage pumping equipment in the bowels of Parliament dates back to Victorian times.)

(议会内部的污水泵设备可以追溯到维多利亚时代。)

新闻:
The refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament could cost almost £40bn and take 61 years, under proposals presented to MPs and peers.

根据提交给两院议员的提案,英国议会大厦的翻新可能耗资近400亿英镑,耗时61年。

It's one option presented by the team working on the long-delayed restoration of the historic building, which is falling apart and costs £1.5m a week to maintain.

这是致力于修复这座历史建筑的团队提出的一个选择,这座建筑正在分崩离析,每周的维护费用为150万英镑。

The team has also suggested moving MPs and peers out of the Palace of Westminster for up to 24 years from 2032, under a refurbishment plan that could cost as much as £15.6bn.

该团队还建议,根据一项可能耗资156亿英镑的翻新计划,从2032年起,两院议员将搬出威斯敏斯特宫,最长可达24年。

MPs and peers will debate and vote on the plan to develop these two options and the completion of initial works.

两院议员将就发展这两种方案和完成初步工作的计划进行辩论和投票。

The more expensive option involves moving only the House of Lords out of the building while works that could take 61 years and cost £39bn are carried out.

更昂贵的选择是只将上议院迁出大楼,而这项工程可能需要61年时间,耗资390亿英镑。

Parliament's restoration and renewal team said a final decision on a single preferred option needed to be made by mid-2030.

议会的修复和更新小组表示,需要在2030年中期之前就单一优先方案做出最终决定。

In the meantime, the team has proposed initial works capped at £3bn over a seven-year period.

与此同时,该团队提议在7年的时间里斥资30亿英镑进行初步工程。

This work includes building temporary accommodation to support MPs and peers during future phases, and building a jetty on the River Thames for deliveries.

这项工作包括建造临时用房,以便在未来阶段为两院议员提供支持,并在泰晤士河上建造一个码头,以便(建筑材料)交付。

In a report setting out the recommendations, the R&R Client Board - committee set up to deliver the renovation - said "continuing in the same way is unsustainable".

在一份提出建议的报告中,R&R客户委员会(为交付翻新而设立的委员会)表示,“以同样的方式继续是不可持续的”。

The report said: "It will mean increasing safety and operational risks and will lead to an expensive managed decline of the Palace."

报告称:“这将意味着安全和运营风险的增加,并将导致白金汉宫昂贵的有计划衰退。”

It added that the cost of delaying a decision is estimated at £70m a year.

它补充说,拖延决定的成本估计为每年7000万英镑。

"A decision is needed now on starting restoration work," the R&R Client Board said in a statement.

客户委员会在一份声明中表示:“现在需要决定是否开始翻建工作。

"Most of the building dates from the Victorian era and some parts are much older.

“大部分建筑可以追溯到维多利亚时代,有些部分还要古老得多。

"Over the decades, its fabric and its services have deteriorated and require substantial repair or replacement. We are beyond the point where putting off these major works is sustainable."

“几十年来,它的结构和服务已经恶化,需要大量维修或更换。我们已经过了可持续推迟这些重大工程的阶段。”

But Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, who opposes the full decant option, said the proposals were "absurd".

但是保守党议员爱德华·利爵士反对整体翻建的选项,他说这些提议是“荒谬的”。

"We should just repair the building like everybody else," he told the BBC. "We can do it in bits.

“我们应该像其他人一样修复这座建筑,”他告诉BBC。“我们可以一点一点地翻建。

"We don't have to have a full decant. I don't think the MPs and peers, if they leave the building for 15 years, they'll ever come back.

“我们不需要整体翻建。我不认为两院议员如果离开大楼15年,他们还会再回来。

"As far as the public are concerned, it's a complete and utter waste of money."

“在公众看来,这完全是浪费钱。”

In contrast, the Prospect trade unx called for a full decant.

相比之下,前景工会则要求整体翻建。

"Successive governments and parliaments have been kicking the can down the road on restoration and renewal of the estate for years," general secretary of the unx, Mike Clancy said.

工会秘书长迈克·克兰西说:“多年来,历届政府和议会一直在拖延修复和翻新大楼。”

He added: "Every report and expert assessment for more than a decade has found that a full decant is the safest and most value- for-money option.

他补充说:“十多年来的每一份报告和专家评估都发现,整体翻建是最安全、最物有所值的选项。

"This is the option which Parliament should back."

“这是议会应当支持的选项。”

The restoration of Parliament has long been in the pipeline in Westminster. The parliamentary estate - which includes the House of Commons and the Lords - is crumbling and there are concerns about the risk of a catastrophic incident, such as a fire.

威斯敏斯特早就在筹备翻建议会。包括下议院和上议院在内的议会大厦正在坍塌,人们担心发生火灾等灾难性事件的风险。

Parliament says there have been 36 fire incidents, 12 asbestos incidents and 19 stonemasonry incidents since 2016.

议会表示,自2016年以来,已经发生了36起火灾事件,12起石棉事件和19起石刻事件。

A parliamentary committee report from a decade ago warned that the Palace of Westminster "faces an impending crisis which we cannot responsibly ignore".

十年前的一份议会委员会报告警告称,威斯敏斯特宫“面临着一场迫在眉睫的,我们无法负责任地无视的危机”。

"Unless an intensive programme of major remedial work is undertaken soon, it is likely that the building will become uninhabitable," it said.

它说:“除非尽快进行密集的重大补救工作,否则这座建筑很可能会变得无法使用。”

No action was taken for years but with falling masonry, lingering asbestos, regular fires and exploding toilets, everyone agrees the work needs to be done.

多年来没有采取任何行动,但砖石倒塌、石棉残留、经常发生火灾、厕所爆炸,每个人都认为需要开展这项工作。

However, there is no consensus on the way forward.

然而,在推进的道路上没有达成共识。

Either way, taxpayers will have to pay for the works and pick up a bill that is expected to run into many billions.

无论哪种翻建方式,纳税人都将不得不为这些工程买单,并承担一笔预计将达到几十上百亿的账单。