New government hub set to open in Manchester in 2025

Ambitious plans to build a brand new government hub in the centre of Manchester have been unveiled this week.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) signed a lease agreement last week with developer Ask Real Estate and its JV partner, The Richardson Family, for a c12,000 square metre site on First Street.

The state-of-the-art building will accommodate thousands of civil servants upon its completion in 2025, the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg announced in a statement.

According to the plans, the hub will host 2,500 civil servants, all of which will be relocated from London to Manchester.

Gov.uk

Under the government’s Places for Growth programme, 22,000 Civil Service roles will be moved out of London by 2030.

More than 700 roles across a number of government departments have already been relocated to Manchester and, by 2025, the Places for Growth programme aims to relocate more than 2,500 civil service roles from the capital.

Departments making the move up North include the Cabinet Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Department for Education, and Department for Business, and Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Rees-Mogg said on the plans: “The First Street development reaffirms Her Majesty’s Government’s long-term commitment to Manchester.

“The Places for Growth programme is delivering high quality government jobs across the whole country, and ensuring that Whitehall can take advantage of the wisdom and experience from people all over the United Kingdom.

“This new site will provide a home for civil servants from at least four different government departments, making it one of the largest hubs for cross-government collaboration and operation outside London.

“By the time this site opens in 2025, 2,500 Civil Servants will have been relocated from Greater London to Manchester.

“I am pleased that the government has secured them a new home with office working at its heart, which will bring tens of millions of pounds to the Greater Manchester economy.”

The Manchester First Street Hub will open in 2025 and provide a new home for civil servants currently based in the Piccadilly Gate office. Piccadilly Gate will be demolished to build a new HS2 station at Piccadilly.