84-meter-deep borehole dug under the Palace of Westminster

A 84-meter-deep borehole was dug under the Palace of Westminster during the Easter recess, as part of a broader survey aimed at the building's long-term restoration.

Furthermore, the Restoration and Renewal Programme is going to provide a much needed, multi-billion-pound, repair and refurbishment to the ageing Palace that houses the UK Parliament.

In 2022, seven contracts were awarded for survey work to be carried out to the Palace, totaling more than £4 million, and requiring thousands of hours to be completed.

In 2023, several borehole surveys were carried out, but none of them had reached such depths.

Preparatory work was carried out during the Parliament’s February recess, where a 1.5-meter-deep trial pit was dug to assess the existence of any possible obstructions, such as utilities.

The 84-meter borehole reached deeper than the Elizabeth Line, or the Channel Tunnel and is part of an effort to map the Palace itself, as well as its underlying geology, prior to designing for its refurbishment.

Characteristically, Matt White, director of the Restoration and Renewal Programme said that ”Designing for a building as old and complex as the Palace isn’t easy, and we don’t always have complete plans we can work from due to the age of the building. To restore the Palace, we first need to understand it”.