Manchester hub for civil servants progresses

A new state-of-the-art government office building in First Street in Manchester has received a key stage of its construction. The nine-story 12,000 metre square building is now ready for the internal fit-out to start.

Once complete, the hub will accommodate around 2,600 civil servants from departments such as the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), and the Department for Education (DfE). It is estimated that over 150 roles will be relocated to Manchester from across different government departments and agencies once the hub is in use.

This building is a key part of the Government Hubs Programme which is rationalising the government’s estate in towns and cities across the UK, ensuring civil servants have workplaces that they can thrive in. This design recognises that different types of work need different spaces to enable cooperation, creativity and community regardless of how people choose to work.

Parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Georgia Gould, said: “It’s great to see the Manchester First Street Hub move onto this next stage of construction.

“UK Government Hubs across the country help to consolidate our estate. Not only cutting waste by removing old inefficient buildings from our portfolio, but also giving people across the country the chance to work in the Civil Service, and driving economic growth in the local area.”

Georgina Dunn, the GPA’s interim director of Capital Projects, said: “It’s very gratifying to reach this significant state in the programme. This new state-of-the-art office will provide a home for civil servants from across the government in Manchester, making it one of the largest hubs for cross-departmental collaboration and operation outside London. The GPA remains immensely proud of the industry-leading sustainability, accessibility and workplace standards delivered by the Government Hubs Programme.”