Palace of Westminster: Restoration and Renewal
Debate between Lord Vaux of Harrowden and Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)
My Lords, that was a very good plug for the noble Lord’s activities. However, let me be serious: a lot of work was undertaken as to the most sensible, practical and cost-effective places to go. I know that a number of options and buildings were looked at, and I know about the river proposal as well, but the QEII Centre always and consistently came out as the preferred location.
Lord Vaux of Harrowden (CB)
My Lords, an awful lot of work by a large number of experts has been carried out over the past few years to learn more about the state of the Palace and to work out options for the best way to restore this building. The knowledge base has moved on considerably since the Act was passed in 2019, and there is more than one way to carry out this project. Does the Senior Deputy Speaker agree with me in encouraging noble Lords—and, indeed, Members of the other place—not to prejudge the outcome of all that work but to wait until they have been able both to see the proposals and to review the up-to-date evidence before deciding on the best solution to restore the Palace?
The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)
My Lords, I want to take this opportunity to thank the noble Lords, Lord Vaux, Lord Collins and Lord Mackinlay, for being our members on the programme board. I endorse the noble Lord’s words about the work that is being done. All of us should take the opportunity, if we have not already done so, to look at this and to go on a tour of the Palace to see the work that we would need to do. In all the options that the programme board has been working on for the client board to review, we should consider costings, timing, risk and impact; it is important that we all study that report.
Japanese Knotweed
Debate between Lord Vaux of Harrowden and Lord Gardiner of Kimble(5 years, 4 months ago)
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Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Both my noble friend Lady Sharples and the noble Lord are tenacious in seeking to deal with this very difficult plant.
Lord Vaux of Harrowden (CB)
My Lords, I spend rather more time than I would like on the west coast railway service, which sometimes goes very slowly, and when looking out of the window you see along the tracks an awful lot of Japanese knotweed, which I gather was planted in Victorian times. What are the Government doing to try to get Network Rail to sort this problem out?
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
My Lords, the Government provided a very substantial settlement for operations and management, including vegetation management, to Network Rail for England and Wales. Last year, Network Rail met with the Property Care Association to discuss knotweed; the meeting was an opportunity to discuss current management, and to explore how Network Rail can give trackside neighbours the assurance they need, particularly to satisfy mortgage lenders, for instance.