Building work starts on Newcastle's HMRC headquarters

The site will house thousands of HMRC staff

Building work has begun on HMRC's new £155m city centre headquarters which will house about 9,000 civil servants.

The site in and around Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, is set to be ready by 2027.

Staff will relocate from existing offices in Washington and Longbenton to form the largest of HMRC's 14 regional hubs.

The government agreed a 25-year lease for the site which will become part of the Pilgrim's Quarter development, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Commercial Union House, built in 1971, has been pulled down

Demolition work has been carried out in recent weeks, which has seen the 1970s Commercial Union House building torn down, and the former Stack shipping container village dismantled.

It will be the largest office complex in Newcastle city centre's history

Marc Gill, HMRC's senior leader in Newcastle, said: "Once complete, Pilgrim's Quarter will provide a first-class, modern, digitally enabled workspace for HMRC's largest office, right here in Newcastle. 

"HMRC is extremely proud of its history in the North East and we look forward to continuing to provide thousands of high-quality government careers in an iconic location in the heart of Newcastle city centre."

The Pilgrim's Quarter complex - developed by the billionaire Reuben Brothers - will wrap around Pilgrim Street, Market Street, New Bridge Street West and John Dobson Street.

The 1920s façade and dome of Carliol House will be kept and incorporated into the development

Heritage group Northumberland and Newcastle Society had argued against demolishing the interior of Art Deco building Carliol House, which is part of the development.

Its 1920s façade and dome will be retained and incorporated into the design.

Councillor Alex Hay, cabinet member responsible for economic development, said: "The new North East home for HMRC will house thousands of workers who will contribute to the wider economy of our city and provide a welcome boost to businesses across Newcastle."