Man who delivered Olympics says risk of reputational damage is deterrent to working on such schemes
Contractors and designers will be wary about taking up roles on the 拢4bn restoration of parliament because of the potential for reputational damage, according to the man responsible for delivering the 2012 Olympic Games.
Sir John Armitt, who was chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, told 好色先生TV he expects construction companies to have the same caution about taking on the job as they initially had toward the Olympics.
鈥淎t the beginning [鈥 work was plentiful, so they didn鈥檛 want to get involved with the Olympics because they didn鈥檛 want the reputational damage of getting it wrong or being late,鈥� he said.
鈥淣obody is going to want to be the contractor or the designer who鈥檚 going to be called out, in the protection of parliamentary debate, for having got something wrong.鈥�
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Armitt said while firms would usually jump at the chance to be involved in a high-profile scheme, concerns about the potential for bad press were understandable on a scheme of this sensitivity.
He said: 鈥淭his is a World Heritage building, one of the most highly visited and regarded buildings in the country, [and] to be part of being able to restore that will be something that a lot of people will say: 鈥榊es, I鈥檇 love to be involved and it will look good on my CV鈥�.鈥�
But he added: 鈥淭his is a complex building restoration project. A lot will depend on the form of contract, because there will be contractors who will say: 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to go anywhere near it if it鈥檚 too fierce a form of contract鈥�.鈥�
Armitt, now chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said he would not be surprised if the Palace of Westminster restoration became a more difficult job than preparing London for the Olympics.
鈥淲e used to say that the beauty of the Olympics was that there was a fixed completion date. If you took the Olympics as an analogy, what was the most important value? It was time. Time was more important than cost, so if it was going to cost us a bit more in order to be absolutely sure we delivered on time, then we accepted we had to spend some more money.鈥�
Consultants working on the scheme include architect BDP and US firm CH2M which is carrying out project and cost management.
The second reading of the legislation needed before restoration work can start was passed in the House of Commons this week.
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