LONDON, June 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Delaying restoration of Britain's crumbling

Houses of Parliament could add o420 million ($564 million) a year to the

final bill, the country's National Audit Office (NAO) forecast Monday.

Plans to restore the Victorian neo-Gothic edifice, which is part of a UNESCO

World Heritage Site featuring Westminster Abbey, stretch back more than a

decade.

However works have yet to start owing to concerns over the project's huge

costs estimated at tens of billions of pounds, as well as on worries about

disruption caused by rehousing MPs and Lords in temporary buildings for many

years.

The Houses of Parliament -- otherwise referred to as the Palace of

Westminster -- suffers from "deteriorating mechanical and electrical systems,

fire safety issues.... (and) asbestos", the NAO confirmed Monday.

In an updated report, the independent spending watchdog noted "that each year

of delay corresponds to an additional o320 million to o420 million on top of

the overall cost of delivering the programme.

"Parliament currently spends around o1.5 million a week on maintenance of the

Palace, including major refurbishment projects," the NAO added.

A parliamentary body has proposed various options for the restoration, with

one possible outcome showing a phased project lasting between 38 to 61 years

and costing up to o39.2 billion.

A "full decant" would see parliament's upper and lower chambers leave the

Palace for much of the project, costing up to o15.6 billion and taking

between 19 and 24 years to complete.

MPs in the lower House of Commons and peers in the House of Lords, must

decide on the options, which include one unlikely restoration project

forecast to last 84 years, by mid-2030.

Both Houses have additionally been asked to agree to initial restoration

works lasting seven years at a cost of up to o3 billion.

The Great Clock that towers above the Houses of Parliament, and which carries

the famous Big Ben bell, underwent a five-year restoration project through to

2022 at a cost of o80 million.

BSS/AFP/SSS/1915 hrs