§ 57. Mr. Liptonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in detail the precautionary measures to reinforce the foundations of the Big Ben clocktower due to the car park excavations in New Palace Yard.
§ Mr. ChannonIn June it was decided to stiffen four piers which support the clock tower because a routine maintenance survey in 1971 had shown that the plaster and brickwork of two of them was cracked. The condition is not alarming and where it has been found elsewhere in the Palace of Westminster a similar remedy has been successfully applied. This work which is in hand is not connected with the underground car park.