Burnham

[UglyWithaSidePart]

It's not. Build a purpose built new building and sell the plot.
Where the new one should be built can be up for debate.

And knowing what I know about very large projects, especially government projects, is they always come in over budget and never on time. I reckon you can double these costs if the figures above are deemed somewhat accurate.

 

[Pross]

It's not. Build a purpose built new building and sell the plot.
Where the new one should be built can be up for debate.

As I’ve said for years, build it as a campus with accommodation and offices. You can more easily control security and do away with expenses for office space and accommodation in the process. They could move all the Whitehall offices / Downing Street buildings too then sell off real estate in one of the most expensive locations in the UK. The last bit might be a stretch but the rest just feels like an obvious solution. Flog Chequers while their at it, why does a PM need a country house and all the costs of securing that?

 

[Pblakeney]

As I’ve said for years, build it as a campus with accommodation and offices. You can more easily control security and do away with expenses for office space and accommodation in the process. They could move all the Whitehall offices / Downing Street buildings too then sell off real estate in one of the most expensive locations in the UK. The last bit might be a stretch but the rest just feels like an obvious solution. Flog Chequers while their at it, why does a PM need a country house and all the costs of securing that?

I've been saying the same for years, decades even. I think it first came up during the expenses scandal.
Quite happy for you to take origin claim to avoid any unnecessary debate, but that's two. Just need another couple of dozen million. 😉

 

[icowden]

Private Eye has been all over this. It's been almost as shady as Farage's shenanigans.

Oh I know - but the missing bit IMHO is what Houchen gets out of it.

 

[Pross]

I've been saying the same for years, decades even. I think it first came up during the expenses scandal.
Quite happy for you to take origin claim to avoid any unnecessary debate, but that's two. Just need another couple of dozen million. 😉

We’ll call it a draw as I think it was the expenses scandal that triggered it for me too. There must be a reason why they haven’t gone down that route as it seems so obvious. Surely it can’t just be that they like their cushy central London perks and expenses paid shag pads?

 

[Pblakeney]

We’ll call it a draw as I think it was the expenses scandal that triggered it for me too. There must be a reason why they haven’t gone down that route as it seems so obvious. Surely it can’t just be that they like their cushy central London perks and expenses paid shag pads?

Question asked, question answered.

 

[All uphill]

As I’ve said for years, build it as a campus with accommodation and offices. You can more easily control security and do away with expenses for office space and accommodation in the process. They could move all the Whitehall offices / Downing Street buildings too then sell off real estate in one of the most expensive locations in the UK. The last bit might be a stretch but the rest just feels like an obvious solution. Flog Chequers while their at it, why does a PM need a country house and all the costs of securing that?

Parliament could go in Buckingham Palace, now the squatters there have moved on.

 

[Beebo]

It's not. Build a purpose built new building and sell the plot.
Where the new one should be built can be up for debate.

Selling the old plot is tricky.
It’s a listed building so it can’t be demolished, and any whoever buys it would face the same costs to convert it into something useful like a hotel and event space.
Plus the upkeep costs would be astronomical.
There is an argument that even as a listed building it is now a huge financial liability and needs to go. But that’s a different argument.
I suspect they would secretly like it to burn down and solve the problem

 

[Pblakeney]

Selling the old plot is tricky.
It’s a listed building so it can’t be demolished, and any whoever buys it would face the same costs to convert it into something useful like a hotel and event space.
Plus the upkeep costs would be astronomical.
There is an argument that even as a listed building it is now a huge financial liability and needs to go. But that’s a different argument.
I suspect they would secretly like it to burn down and solve the problem

An insurance job? Quite common apparently.

 

[BoldonLad]

Selling the old plot is tricky.
It’s a listed building so it can’t be demolished, and any whoever buys it would face the same costs to convert it into something useful like a hotel and event space.
Plus the upkeep costs would be astronomical.
There is an argument that even as a listed building it is now a huge financial liability and needs to go. But that’s a different argument.
I suspect they would secretly like it to burn down and solve the problem

Maybe the Iranians could help us here?, or at least some people who LOOK like they could be Iranians. 😊

 

[Pross]

Selling the old plot is tricky.
It’s a listed building so it can’t be demolished, and any whoever buys it would face the same costs to convert it into something useful like a hotel and event space.
Plus the upkeep costs would be astronomical.
There is an argument that even as a listed building it is now a huge financial liability and needs to go. But that’s a different argument.
I suspect they would secretly like it to burn down and solve the problem

It would be a lot cheaper to refurbish when empty and a private sector developer would get it done at real world rates instead of government project rates. They’d also have an asset to make money from at the end.

 

[BoldonLad]

It would be a lot cheaper to refurbish when empty and a private sector developer would get it done at real world rates instead of government project rates. They’d also have an asset to make money from at the end.

How wickedly Capitalist, they will be having shareholders with their grasping hands out next 😂

 

[briantrumpet]

Ha, can you imagine Badenoch writing something like this?

 

[Ian H]

Ha, can you imagine Badenoch writing something like this?

View attachment 16424

Go on then, which is your favourite Larkin poem?

 

[Beebo]

Ha, can you imagine Badenoch writing something like this?

View attachment 16424

They fark you up, these northern aspirational politicians.