The Government Property Agency has received consent for its plans to build two new office buildings in central Manchester that will host around 7,000 civil servants.
Manchester City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee yesterday gave its backing to the GPA’s proposals for the site of the former Central Retail Park in Ancoats.
The Manchester Digital Campus will bring together officials from a number of government departments, the agency said.
A report to the meeting said Manchester had been specifically identified as the location for the digital hub because of its “longstanding legacy for technological advancement and significant existing and emerging pipeline of exceptional talent” to support the development.
The document said development would deliver 83,000sq m of office space and 1,000sq m of retail space at the buildings, which will be seven and six storeys tall respectively.
Manchester City Council planning officers said the construction value of the development was estimated at £310m. They said the total value of the project – which includes plans for a new urban park – would be “nearer £1bn” when final fit-out of the buildings and site-wide improvements were factored in.
GPA chief executive officer Mark Bourgeois said the project team was delighted with the planning approval and proud to be working on an “exciting project” that would support the government’s growth mission.
“We are pleased to be working with Manchester City Council on these regeneration plans, and look forward to creating fantastic and sustainable workplaces to support the transformation of the civil service,” he said.
The GPA exchanged contracts to buy 2.2 hectares of the former retail park – about half of its total area – from the city council in May last year.
The agency and the authority have been working together on the plans for the offices and park. Back in 2022, Civil Service World reported that the city council was keen to redevelop the retail-park site – which is around 500m from Manchester Piccadilly Station – and was targeting civil service jobs.
Following yesterday’s decision to approve the GPA proposals, Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said the campus would play to the city’s strengths.
“We have fostered one of the fastest growing tech and digital communities in the UK, with a growing international reputation,” she said. “The transformation of this brownfield site supports our ongoing growth in the sector, which translates into quality employment and development opportunities for our residents.”
Craig added that the authority was keen to work with ministers to “bring forward other ambitious investments” to drive sustainable economic growth and help local people thrive.