Sarah Johnson appointed to top role at stalled scheme three years ago
The boss of the organisation charged with overseeing the revamp of the Palace of Westminster has left the job.
Sarah Johnson, who was named chief executive of the sponsor body for Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal in 2019, said she had made the decision "following decisions earlier this year by the House Commissions about the future of the R&R Programme".
The sponsor body was established in 2018 to set the scope, budget and timescale of the Restoration and Renewal Programme and oversee a delivery authority with the technical expertise to commission and execute the work.
She said: "It is the right time for me to move on. In a few days I will hand the baton over to Patsy Richards who I know will do a brilliant job. I’d like to thank everyone across the R&R family for all of their hard work but in particular my fabulous colleagues in the sponsor body."
In a LinkedIn post, she added that her next step would be to take some time out from work.
Richards is currently director of workplace transformation in the House of Commons.
Johnson was previously HS2’s corporate sponsorship director, head of Crossrail’s joint sponsor team and head of scheme development for Crossrail 2.
She also spent three years as the chief of staff for Crossrail.
The Parliament project has been in limbo since a study published in February found that restoring the Palace of Westminster could take up to 76 years and cost nearly £50bn if MPs do not move out during the works.
The most detailed study yet found that keeping the Commons and the Lords in the building could increase costs by as much as 60% and dramatically increase the length of time it takes to get the job finished.
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