Plan to crown Westminster Abbey with £10m new roof

Plans have been revealed to give Westminster Abbey a £10m crown-shaped roof, in the first major building project at the London landmark for 250 years.

The dean of the Abbey, John Hall, wants the corona to replace the building's 1950s pyramid roof in front of the high altar in time for the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation at the same spot in 2013.

Prince Charles and the Queen are apparently in favour of the proposals

The new roof is part of a £23m development plan for the abbey, including a new museum in its upper floors and a lift on the outside of the building.

The proposals have already been run past the Queen and Prince Charles. but Hall said the scheme would not go ahead unless it had the backing of the public following a public consultation.

He said: “There will of course be some people who say: 'Don't change our skyline after all this time', 'How absurd' or 'How dare you tamper with this great beautiful work we know and love?'

“What we're hoping is to demonstrate to people how the abbey has scarcely stood still in its long history. I don't think we would go against the bulk of public opinion."

If the consultation gets a positive response, architects will be invited to enter a RIBA-run competition to design the corona.

An exhibition and public consultation on the plans opens in the Abbey's chapter house on 30 June and will run until September.