Features / Politics
The Bristol Houses of Parliament plan that predates No10 North
It is one day since the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham moved into his No10 North office, and welcomed in a new era of regional political focus.
But his shift out of London (albeit only a bit of time each week) is far from the first effort to get UK-wide politics away from the capital.
Ten years ago, architecture firm Studio Egret West put forward a plan to move the Houses of Parliament to Bristol while the Palace of Westminster underwent extensive renovation.
is needed now More than ever
The 19th century palace was – and still is – in desperate need of repair, with masonry falling off, rooms infested with vermin and more than 40 fires recorded in the last decade.
The work was due to cost £5.7b and take 32 years – but as former mayor George Ferguson told Bristol24/7, if the Houses of Parliament could be moved elsewhere during the renovation then it would save £2.2b and take far less time.
“It’s always harder to work on occupied buildings,” he said.
The architect said he had just mentioned the situation to his “good friends” at Studio Egret West and explained how he wished parliament could come to Bristol, when “they out of the blue just did it and came up with some plans.”
Studio Egret West proposed the old Royal Mail sorting office for the parliament site
The company proposed using the former Royal Mail sorting office next to Temple Meads station, which had long stood empty, as the temporary home.
“Bristol is a really attractive place culturally and it’s got everything to offer,” said Ferguson. “It’s a good city to show off the UK from.”
“If it was absolutely bang next to the station it would be a really quick fix for people coming north, east, west or south. It would be quicker for many MPs to get to than it would be to London, funnily enough.”
But despite his enthusiasm, the plan went nowhere. It was quickly dismissed by then-North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg as being too expensive and burdensome, and the momentum for the idea “just faded out”.
Ferguson wants his plan to be revisited – image: Studio Egret West
But ten years on, and as the new Prime Minister puts the issue of regional politics back on the agenda, is it time to revisit the scheme?
For Ferguson, the answer is absolutely yes.
“It’s even more relevant now,” he said. “They weren’t talking such silly figures back in 2016.”
In the past decade, the estimated cost of the repairs have shot up enormously.
Now, an occupied Palace of Westminster could cost £40b to repair over 38-61 years. But move the inhabitants elsewhere and the cost could be £11-15b over 19-24 years.
“It’s staggering funds,” said Ferguson. “For a billion, I could probably build a new parliament. It’s stupid!”
The long delay in committing to the building works has not helped.
“At the moment it’s costing one and a half million a week just with maintenance – one and a half million a week doing nothing.”
Though the original site is now owned by the University of Bristol, there is still plenty of development space in Temple Quarter – photo: University of Bristol
So Ferguson is back with his idea. Though the old Royal Mail site is now owned by the University of Bristol, there is still space around Temple Quarter.
The area, which is undergoing a major redevelopment project, would in his view have the space to house the politicians, the civil servants and the whole infrastructure of government.
“Imagine the university and the parliament together, sharing some facilities too,” he said. “Far better integrated than the Houses of Parliament are isolated on the banks of the Thames.”
As for the criticism that Bristol is harder any closer the northern parts of the UK than London, Ferguson was unfazed.
“Just bunging it in the middle of the country for the northern MPs is no compensation to putting it in a really attractive place,” he said.
“We have to fly the flag from Bristol and if they can find a better solution then fine, but I like to think we can throw the glove down.
“I think you don’t get change without a few crazy ideas – and this is actually a crazy idea with legs.”
Main image: Studio Egret West
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
