The Treasury and other departments are set to move into the exchequer’s new Darlington offices this spring but could relocate to another site in the town in just three-to-four years.
Civil servants are expected to move to temporary offices at Feethams House – an office complex near the town centre – by April. There are then plans to relocate by 2025, with Central Park, another development in Darlington where new offices are being built, currently being considered by the Treasury.
Central Park is a 10-minute walk out of the centre but closer to the main Victorian train station and already home to Teesside University’s National Horizon Centre
"A proposal has been put forward and we're just waiting for confirmation as to whether that is where they want to relocate,” Darlington Council leader Heather Scott said.
"It's a fairly big space so the other departments will all be able to be housed in that area.
"I think the timescale is 2024-5 for the final move.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced last March that the Treasury and other government departments would move 750 staff to Darlington.
Around 1,500 civil servants are now expected to move in Darlington by 2025, Scott said, from the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Office for National Statistics, among others.
The movement is part of the government’s Places for Growth programme, which aims to relocate 22,000 jobs by the end of the decade, in alignment with the government's levelling up strategy.
The £8.5m Feethams House building was intended for small and medium enterprises or general business use, but Darlington Council had failed to secure a tenant, Teeside Live reports.
The Treasury is now carrying out works to the building to make it secure and fit for purpose, Scott said.
Scott said she hoped the office would be ready for the Treasury around April, adding: "They will probably occupy this building for three or four years.
"Then it will be up to them whether they want to continue with the lease of it in future.”
She said it is “great news” that the Treasury and other departments are moving to Darlington and the town will benefit from the move.
HMRC launches Nottingham recruitment drive
Meanwhile, HMRC is on the hunt for employees for its new Nottingham base, including 100 new employees for customer service roles.
The department is leaving its current Castle Meadow Road site in September this year.
HMRC are offering a salary of £21,249-£22,084 for the customer services adviser roles, which will be based at its new building in Unity Square. Applications must be submitted by this Friday, 21 January.
The department is also looking for a cybercrime analyst, tax planning specialist and FM delivery manager for its new Nottingham base.