MPs, Lords and Visitors to the Houses are under threat – chunks from the historical building continue falling in an avalanche of near misses.
The Parliament released figures showing that 15 incidents occurred during the last 3 years in which the stonework of the historic building was crushed to the ground.
The lumps could be as large as bricks, and it has been shown that four people may have been in these areas at the time.
Last month, it was revealed by the Mail on Sunday that a planned refurbishment of the Houses of Parliament could set taxpayers back by a whopping £14billion.
The refurbishment is due to start in 2027 and could lead to MPs and peers According to the estimate of the agency responsible for the construction of the renovation plan, they were ‘decanted from the Palace of Westminster’ into ‘temporary premises’.
After a stone fell, police had to close the area off in April 2018, and people look up at Victoria Tower. Recent figures reveal that masonry was smashed from Parliament 15 times within three years. Four of these incidents were caused by people who were present and may have been seriously injured.
On Victoria Tower, a boulder (circled), fell from an angel made of weathered stones in April 2018.
A football sized chunk of masonry broke away from a stone angel on parliament’s Victoria Tower and plummeted 230ft (70m), landing yards from Black Rod’s Garden Entrance
Officials from the Houses have completed an assessment of the Grade I listed building and created a color-coded heatmap to identify the most vulnerable areas.
Officials fear that someone could get seriously hurt or killed by the stonework that falls off of an historic building.
To prevent falls from occurring again, the structure was wrapped in some areas. A safety platform is built for people to protect them below.
An enormous chunk of masonry measuring about football-size fell from the Victoria Tower stone angel and plunged 230ft (70m), to the ground.
Meanwhile in October 2017 an MP’s car windscreen was smashed when a piece of masonry fell from a building.
This is the newly published dossier on near misses over the past three years.
Victoria TowerThere are two records that lumps fell off of the tower, which is located at the other end of Parliament from Big Ben. One case logged the lump as measuring 10 inches in diameter.
Westminster Hall:In the Palace’s huge central hall, three pieces of stonework fell to the floor. One 6-inch piece was discovered to have fallen from 13ft.
Chapel: According to reports, a one-foot long piece of masonry fell to the floor in the historical chamber.
Speaker’s Court:One small piece of rock was crushed to ground near people.
Collonade: There have been five instances where the masonry crumbled, with items measuring between four and five inches.
There have also been incidents of debris falling off the building in St Stephen’s Porch, New Palace Yard and the corridor under the Opposition Whips’ basement.
Officials were required to make a masonry safety risk map, showing which areas of the building people most likely to be struck by falling stones.
In some parts of the Grade I building, the structure has been wrapped up to prevent further falls, while in others safety platforms have been built to stop items falling onto people’s heads
MyJobQuote conducted the research and sent a Freedom of Information Request to the House of Commons.
A lot of limestone used for the historical building have been damaged by erosion due to pollution.
The refurbishment plan involves renovating the historic stonework as well as replacing some 240 miles of electrical cabling and improving the building’s sewerage system.