North to benefit from civil service shake-up

The government intends to redistribute 12,000 civil service roles from London to 13 locations around the UK, in an effort to tackle regional inequality and save £94m per year.

The selected cities are Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Tyneside, Sheffield, Cardiff, Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Aberdeen.

This figure equates to 13% of jobs currently held in the capital, although the government has set a target of 50% of senior civil servants to be based outside of the city by 2030.

As well as redistributing decision-making around the country, it will also bring high-level jobs to other regions.

This adds to the former Conservative party’s efforts, which saw around 18,000 roles moved outside of London under the Levelling Up agenda.

Under the former government, a Treasury campus was established in Darlington, and work is now underway on the Darlington Economic Campus, being delivered by Kier for the Government Property Agency. Due to complete in 2027, it will house more than 1,000 officials from six departments in roles relocated from London.

In Newcastle, the 463,000 sq ft HMRC base has been the cornerstone of the Pilgrim’s Quarter regeneration, and will house 9,000 civil servants once complete. The building, constructed by Bowmer & Kirkland, topped out last October.

GPA has also selected York as the location for a six-storey office which will be part of McLaren’s York Central regeneration project. Due to complete in 2027/28, the hub received planning consent last July and will house around 2,600 civil servants.

Meanwhile, Manchester was chosen as the location for one of three regional campuses, this one focusing on digital and AI. The GPA project reflects a £310m redevelopment of part of the 10.5-acre former Central Retail Park in Ancoats into a hub for 7,000 civil servants.

A second regional campus will be built in Aberdeen, and will be focused on energy. The third location and focus is yet to be announced.