'Intrusive' railings to protect Speaker's lawn cost £3m

'Intrusive' railings to protect Speaker's lawn cost £3m

'Intrusive' railings to protect Speaker's lawn cost £3m

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Security: an image of how railings around the Palace of Westminster will look

Security: an image of how railings around the Palace of Westminster will look

Iron railings costing £3.1 million to protect the Palace of Westminster from protesters were today branded "intrusive and expensive".

They will encircle Speaker's Green, the lawn outside the apartment used by Speaker John Bercow and his wife Sally, and will also protect Cromwell Green, which was invaded by Greenpeace activists two years ago.

English Heritage has complained that the 11ft railings will have a "major impact" on one of the world's best known buildings. Residents' group the Thorney Island Society is horrified by the "extremely costly" plans.

Tom Ball, an architect and member of the society's executive committee, added: "The 'Mother of Parliaments' is now presented as a defensive fortress with a series of the most obvious and blatant barriers, where far less intrusive mechanisms of ensuring security should be employed."

The railings on Cromwell Green will cost £524,000, and the security around Speaker's Green will cost another £510,000. But once VAT, professional fees and "contingencies" are added the total bill rises to £3,136,762.

A spokeswoman for the House of Commons said Speaker's Green was considered "vulnerable" because of the design of its wall. Cromwell Green is "even more vulnerable".

Westminster's planning committee is set to approve the railings on Thursday. A report concedes they harm their surroundings, a World Heritage Site, but are justified on security grounds.