The Palace of Westminster will need at least £1 billion to refurbish and restore the parliament buildings, according to a study.

The Independant Options Appraisal (IOA) report, carried out by Deloitte Real Estate, AECOM and HOK, has suggested a number of options and costs for refurbishment.

The consortiums potential delivery options are:

• A rolling program of work over a prolonged period of time delivered around continued occupation of the Palace by politicians, lasting potentially 32 years and costing £5.7 billion.

• A partial move-out during which each House would move out in phases to a temporary location and return upon completion, potentially lasting 11 years and costing £4.4 billion.

• A full move-out, during which the Palace would be fully vacated while improvements are undertaken over a concentrated period of time, with the Houses returning upon completion, approximately taking six years and costing between £3.5-3.9 billion depending if improvements are carried out at the same time.

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Dr Richard Ware, Program Director for Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal, said: "The Palace has reached a turning point in its history, with many features needing major renovation.

"These include antiquated heating, ventilation, water, drainage and electrical systems combined with extensive stonework decay, leaking roofs, corrosion and the need to improve fire containment.

"Even the intensive program of urgent repairs carried out over the last five years is barely scratching the surface."

Development work on the 1 million sq ft site would not begin until 2020.

Larry Malcic, Design Principal in HOK's London office, said: "The challenges involved in its (Westminster's) restoration and renewal are unique.

"Our extensive understanding of the building’s architectural heritage, underpinned by our two decades of experience working at the Palace and across Whitehall, has informed the report’s findings on what each scenario would aim to achieve and how to manage such a complex design project."

Alex Ball, IOA Lead and Partner at Deloitte Real Estate, said: "The restoration and renewal of the UK’s most famous building will be a challenging and potentially expensive exercise, but that it could also generate significant benefits to Parliament and the UK more widely."

The Joint Committee will make its final recommendations for restoration in early 2016.

(LM/MH)