McLaren Property has sold its option on a 80,000 sq ft site in Darlington, which will become the Treasury’s second headquarters.
The site on Brunswick Street, which is currently a vacant car park, has been picked up by the Government Property Agency to become a permanent base for up to 1,400 civil servants.
The McLaren scheme on Brunswick Street was chosen over Central Park as the permanent site for the Darlington Economic Campus. Construction of the new government hub will begin in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Alongside the Treasury, the campus will house teams from the Department for Business and Trade; Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Office for National Statistics; and the Competition and Markets Authority.
The Department for Education already has a base in Darlington.
McLaren’s regional managing director Tom Gilman said: “This is a well-connected site that will be an important campus location for the government, encouraging cross-government collaboration between co-located departments and bringing the spending power of 1,400 civil servants to the town.”
The Darlington Economic Campus is part of the government’s Places for Growth programme, which is moving roles out of London to areas across the UK.
The programme aims to move 22,000 roles from London by 2030.
The shifting of Civil Service roles to Darlington is expected to generate approximately £30m per 1,000 roles relocated in economic benefits for the County Durham town, down to increased footfall and spending from staff.
Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said: “Levelling up is about tangible change on the ground and the purchasing of the Darlington Economic Campus land shows that the government is putting down roots in the communities we serve.”
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