Construction starts on Manchester government hub
Minister Jeremy Quin has broken ground on the Government Property Agency’s new First Street Hub in Manchester.
The hub, which was announced last summer, will provide a new home for more than 2,500 civil servants, including 700 roles relocated from London under the government’s Places for Growth programme.
More than 1,000 roles have already moved to Manchester under Places for Growth programme, with key decision-making teams within departments such as the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Cabinet Office now based in the city, and more than 2,500 roles committed to move there by 2025.
Government modelling expects that the programme will provide an economic boost of between £260M – £1.4Bn in total across the country, helping to deliver on one of the Prime Minister’s key promises to grow the economy.
Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin said: “The new First Street Government Hub will enable hundreds of jobs to move to Manchester and bring millions of pounds to the local economy.
“The hub will support the Prime Minister’s top priorities to grow the economy, and its role facilitating Places for Growth is critical to the levelling up agenda.
“By putting local voices at the heart of policy-making, we’re moving power out of Whitehall and into the hands of communities across the country.”
The north-west has seen the most roles moved under the programme, with around 2,300 government roles previously based in London, including 45 senior civil servant roles, now operating from Greater Manchester, Liverpool, and Sefton.
The government is continuing its plans to establish the North West as a ‘cyber corridor’ with the establishment of the National Cyber Force in Lancashire, the region is set to benefit from thousands more cyber jobs.
Once complete the site will be one of the largest for cross-government collaboration and operation outside London, providing office accommodation and different types of areas for people to work and collaborate, as well as enabling efficiencies through digitally-enabled office space.
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