Palace of Westminster: Freight

(asked on 18th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the right hon. Member for East Hampshire, representing the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving freight to and from the Restoration and Renewal construction site at the Palace of Westminster by river.


Answered by
Damian Hinds Portrait
Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 22nd May 2020

The Sponsor Body has agreed a strategic objective to mitigate the environmental impact of the Restoration and Renewal Programme during the construction phase and to minimise the impact in relation to the Palace's future operation. This objective has been endorsed by the Commissions of both Houses and will be kept under review as the Programme progresses. An Environment Impact Assessment will be conducted in due course once the preferred approach to the works has been determined as part of the business case process, which will consider the impact on air quality and river ecology. The Programme is also expected to agree a series of controls and mitigations, as well as monitoring arrangements, for air quality during the construction phase as part of the planning process. The merits of using the river for moving materials to and from the construction site, to minimise the effects of construction on road traffic emissions, will also be considered by the Programme.

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