A new government hub in Darlington has got the go-ahead from council planners.
On Wednesday, Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee approved the Government Property Agency’s application to construct the 10,000 square metre hub at a car-park site on Brunswick Street, which is on the edge of the town centre.
The five-storey building will provide office space for more than 1,400 civil servants and will become part of the Darlington Economic Campus, which also includes Feethams House and Bishopsgate House and which hosts nine government departments and agencies.
As part of the government's Places for Growth programme, the campus has brought in officials from eight government deparments and agencies: HM Treasury; the Department for Business and Trade; the Department for Science Innovation and Technology; the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero; the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport; the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Office of National Statistics; and the Competition and Markets Authority.
The campus also includes the Department for Education, which has 700 staff in Darlington and has had a base in the town since the 1960s.
Beth Russell, the Treasury’s second perm sec, said the development will offer “the opportunity for people in the North East to do government jobs that were traditionally only available in London, making government policy-making more reflective of the communities we serve”.
Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould added that the development will “support Darlington’s economy and allow the civil service to draw on talent and skills across the region”.
The GPA confirmed in September 2023 that it had bought the Brunswick Street site. The building, which is earmarked for completion in 2027, will replace the current Darlington Economic Campus, which is temporarily based at Feetham House and Bishopsgate House in the town centre.
Mark Bourgeois, the agency’s chief executive, said the new hub “will help deliver on the government’s mission in supporting economic growth in the region” and will support the “transformation of the civil service through delivery of a modern, inspirational and energy-efficient office complex”.
Once the Brunswick Street site is built, DBT will base its second headquarters there.
Jo Crellin, DBT’s director general for domestic and international markets and exports, said having the hub as the department's second HQ will mean DBT "can recruit people from all kinds of backgrounds into the civil service" and "will enable us to build on the 250 brilliant staff we already have".
The government's Places for Growth programme aims to relocate 22,000 civil service jobs from London to other parts of the country by 2027. Since 2021, more than 750 civil service roles have been relocated to Darlington under the programme, with more than 18,000 roles moved across the country in total.