Wates’ construction business has been awarded the £110.6m contract to repair and refurbish the iconic Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster to preserve it for future generations.

The tower, which sits at the south-west corner of the Palace of Westminster and was completed in 1860, is around three times the size of the Elizabeth Tower - home to Big Ben - and is an integral part of parliamentary events, including the State Opening of Parliament.

Work on the Grade 1 listed tower will begin mid-September and is expected to run until 2031. The project is a combination of essential safety work and key restoration and conservation work.

Over the course of the next six years, alongside specialist companies and craftspeople from across the UK, Wates will use a combination of traditional skills and new innovations and methods to repair and make safe the stonemasonry, restore the window glazing, strip and replace the roof and remove and restore the 22.3m flagpole that gives the tower the height advantage over its sister tower – the Elizabeth Tower.

The last significant works on Victoria Tower were completed in the early 1990s – to prevent the build-up of pollution taking its toll on the parliamentary records archive that is stored within the tower.

Steve Holbrook, managing director, construction London, said: “This project is a significant step forward for us in the public sector and heritage space, reflecting the outstanding work of both our pre-construction and delivery teams.”