David Goldstone named as boss of delivery authority

David Goldstone has been named  chief executive of the delivery authority that will be responsible for £4bn programme to restore the Palace of Westminster. 

Goldstone (pictured) is currently the chief operating officer at the Ministry of Defence, where he is in charge of the department’s transformation programme and the development of its operating model.

David Goldstone 1

He was previously the chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation and the chief financial officer at Transport for London (TfL).

Goldstone is expected to take up his new role in April and will sit on the board as one of two executive directors.

The appointment was made by the delivery authority chair-designate, outgoing TfL commissioner Mike Brown, with the consent of the shadow sponsor board.

Brown was announced as chair in October last year and will join in May after the mayoral election.

The restoration and renewal programme has been established to tackle the significant work that needs to be done to protect the heritage of the Palace of Westminster and ensure it can continue to serve as home to the UK parliament.

© UK Parliament

Source: © UK Parliament

General dilapidation of stonework in Cloister Court at the Houses of Parliament

BDP has been appointed to carry out architectural and building design services alongside consultant CH2M, later bought by Jacobs, which is working on programme, project and cost management services.

The shadow sponsor body was established in 2018, to set the scope, budget and timescale of the restoration programme, and oversee the delivery authority, who will have the technical expertise to execute the work. 

 Liz Peace is the chair of the shadow sponsor board.

Last year Parliament passed The Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 which sets out in law how the work will be carried out under this two-tier governance system.

The legislation provides for a six-month transition period, with the governing bodies being set up in the spring of 2020. The structure is similar to the Olympic Delivery Authority which was used to helped mastermind building of the venues for the 2012 games in London.