The decision to move thousands of civil servants to Darlington in County Durham has had a hugely positive impact on the northern town’s property market.
In 2021, prime minister Rishi Sunak named it as the site of the Treasury’s new northern headquarters.
Since then house prices have shot up, landlords have been converting properties into short-term lets, and national law and accountancy firms are jostling for scarce office space.
The Darlington Central Club – a traditional working men’s venue – is one of several buildings pegged for redevelopment into offices and flats.
However, the Treasury campus’s expansion is also constrained by space: its temporary home, a new office block overlooking a roundabout and multiplex cinema, is full, and plans for a permanent site have yet to be nailed down.
