Tuesday, October 28, 2003
New building
I have some experience of trying to pin down builders to start a job and then seeking to make them bring it to a swift conclusion. My sympathies, therefore, are entirely with the Scottish public whose new Parliament Building is three years behind schedule and will cost ten times the original estimate. Wales, of course, is not without its own controversy with regards to its Assembly building, but we are small fry by comparison to this. The big contrast of course is the GLA. Their new building seems to have gone up with little or fuss and was ready for occupation by the Mayor and the Assembly within record time. This may not be the perception in London of course but that is how it looks from afar. It does help if the site is part of a prime development area on the river bank opposite the Tower of London. If as a result, you can get a very favourable PFI deal and that there is a stipulation that the Assembly building must be completed before the private development attached to it.
