James Fisher Strainstall secures Places of Westminster instrumentation and monitoring contract

James Fisher Strainstall (JF Strainstall) has won a contract worth £1.63 million to provide instrumentation and monitoring services as part of the restoration and renewal of London’s iconic Houses of Parliament.

The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Programme will preserve the Palace’s status as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and create a modern, accessible Parliament with a safer environment for all employees and visitors. As the programme gathers pace, it will also create thousands of jobs and training opportunities across the country. JF Strainstall is pleased to be a part of this information gathering about the current condition of the buildings.

Jonathan Simpson Tarling, managing director of James Fisher Strainstall, said:

“JF Strainstall's teams across the UK are honoured to have been selected for this contract, a testament to our 25-year expertise in condition monitoring of heritage structure.

With our proven track record working on iconic listed monuments including Clifton Suspension Bridge, Exeter Cathedral and the Forth Bridge, we look forward to getting started in this new collaboration and working at the site of a key piece of British history."

Work at the Palace, which UNESCO describes as one of the world’s most significant monuments of neo-Gothic architecture, began in July 2022 and will continue for 18 months. Data will be collected using the SAMSTM software platform, which is capable of presenting large volumes of data as useful information that can be used to make proactive asset management decisions.

The Palace of Westminster is a globally recognised part of London’s landscape, home to the House of Commons and House of Lords. It dates from 1016, and was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 1834. The Palace in its current form is over 150 years old.

Learn more about the heritage of JF-Strainstall.