The Government Property Unit has agreed a 20-year lease on a new office development in Edinburgh city centre to use as a hub for almost 3,000 Scotland-based civil servants.
HM Revenue and Customs staff will be among those moving to the New Waverley buildings, near the city’s Waverley Station, in 2020.
The deal will see the government take on 190,000 square feet of space, equating to most – if not all – of the entire allocation of office accommodation at the site, according to specifications in a brochure from developer Artisan Real Estate Investors.
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New Waverley also includes hotels, shops and apartments, spread over three buildings.
The GPU said the hub would continue to strengthen the government’s commitment to building a strong civil service outside of London and that its commitment to the development was “at least” 20 years.
The announcement continued: “Relocating civil servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces maximises efficiency by using space more effectively and encourages collaboration across departments.”
HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson said being located at the development would allow the tax-collection agency to bring its teams together to promote closer working relationships, “ increasing our effectiveness in collecting taxes” in the process.