- The government wants to shift staff from Whitehall and regional offices to 16 super-hubs around London as well as UK primary and secondary cities
- The hubs could be ‘catalysts for wider regeneration’
The government is aiming to establish 16 civil service hubs totalling more than 7.4m sq ft by 2021 – a plan that has significant implications for regeneration across UK cities.
Much of the space will be taken by HM Revenue & Customs, which is driving the programme and requires 13 new hubs because it is nearing the end of a 20-year sale and leaseback deal with Mapeley Estates. A further three hubs will be established without HMRC presence. JLL is handling the process.
Many of the hubs will need to be in place by 2018, marking a significant power shift away from the government’s Whitehall, SW1, campus.
The plans come after a previous attempt to move thousands of civil servants north, a plan recommended by the Lyons Review of 2004, was shelved.
However, this time, the government appears to be determined to follow through on its strategy.
Matt Crompton, joint managing director at Muse Developments, said that if the offices were set up in the right place and in the right way they would be “a catalyst for wider regeneration”.
“It is not just about the office space but all of the support services, restaurants, cafés and jobs that go with it.”
Nick Montgomery, Schroders’ head of UK real estate investment, said the hubs would also help some of the second-tier cities, which have not had the same rental growth as larger cities such as Manchester and Birmingham.
“I think this could be the catalyst for some interesting regeneration projects,” he said.
However, he questioned whether the strategy would be delayed if the government struggled to sell some of its second-hand office space in the current market.
The move forms part of the Government Property Unit’s target of cutting its offices by 75% by 2023 and raising £5bn from property sales by 2020.
The Government Property Unit is understood to be focusing on city centre locations in an effort to reduce office space in Whitehall from 52 to 20 buildings by 2023.
The largest requirements for the new super-hubs remain in London, with a 1.5m sq ft hub earmarked for Stratford, E16, and 870,000 sq ft in Croydon, south London, where HMRC is already in advanced talks to take the first office building to complete at Stanhope and Schroders’ Ruskin Square.
However, Birmingham’s hub includes 850,000 sq ft of new space and Manchester’s initial requirement stands at 650,000 sq ft, with an option to extend to 950,000 sq ft.
Strategic hubs are also due to launch in Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Wales between 2019 and 2023.
Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool, said that achieving a balance between public and private sector jobs in Liverpool, where the hubs requirement totals 505,000 sq ft, was an “integral component” of the Liverpool City Region devolution agreement and single investment fund.
A source close to the project said that there were no signs it would be delayed post-Brexit. An HMRC spokesperson said: “We are bringing our people together into 13 regional centres across the UK.”
As the government’s infrastructure and devolution promises are called into question, the project promises some hope for the Northern Powerhouse.
This time, the power shift is really happening.
| Strategic hub | Initial staff numbers | Tenure | New acquisition (sq ft) | Hub start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London – east | 23,156 | Leasehold | 1.5m | 01/04/2018 |
| London – south | 13,544 | Leasehold | 871,877 | 01/04/2018 |
| London – west | 1,861 | Leasehold | 118,403 | 01/04/2020 |
| Peterborough | 2,795 | Leasehold | 182,986 | 01/04/2018 |
| Portsmouth | 2,037 | Leasehold | 129,167 | 01/04/2020 |
| Newcastle | 2,237 | Leasehold | 139,931 | 01/04/2019 |
| Leeds | 7,850 | Leasehold | 505,904 | 01/04/2019 |
| Sheffield | 2,909 | Leasehold | 182,986 | 01/04/2019 |
| Nottingham | 6,534 | Leasehold | 419,793 | 01/04/2019 |
| Bristol | 5,108 | Leasehold | 333,681 | 01/04/2021 |
| Birmingham | 13,137 | Leasehold | 850,349 | 01/04/2021 |
| Manchester | 10,185 | Leasehold | 656,599 | 01/04/2018 |
| Preston/Blackpool | 8,034 | Freehold | 516,668 | 01/04/2018 |
| Liverpool | 7,807 | Freehold | 505,904 | 01/04/2018 |
| Carlisle | 4,115 | Freehold | 269,098 | 01/04/2018 |
| Exeter | 3,227 | Freehold | 204,514 | 01/04/2018 |
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