Darlington car park land purchased for flagship Treasury site

The Darlington Economic Campus will be built on a car park

Land for new government offices in the north of England has been purchased.

The car park in the centre of Darlington was earmarked as the permanent site of the Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) last year.

More than 600 Treasury staff are already in the interim Feethams House in the town. The new Brunswick Street site will be the DEC's permanent home.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said the move was "about tangible change on the ground".

He said: "The purchasing of the DEC land shows that the government is putting down roots in the communities we serve."

The DEC, which will be the Treasury's second headquarters, will also accommodate the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Office for National Statistics and the Competition and Markets Authority, housing a total of 1,400 civil servants.

The Department for Education already has a base in the town.

'Heart of decision making'

The DEC is part of the government's Places for Growth programme which it says will see 22,000 roles move from London by 2030.

Construction will begin in October 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The government said it had committed 1,139 roles to the town, with 674 already relocated.

The increased spending from staff would contribute more than £30m to the local economy, it said.

Exchequer secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies said there was "a real sense of momentum".

"The Brunswick Street space will be a boost for local growth and jobs while bringing the people of Darlington and the Tees Valley closer to the heart of government decision making," he said.

"People should be able to develop their careers within the civil service without moving to London and the DEC is testament to that."