DARLINGTON town centre is now the preferred location for a new Northern Government base should Whitehall officials decide to relocate hundreds of Treasury jobs to the Tees Valley.
After months of lobbying, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce in next week’s Budget where the Government’s new ‘Treasury North’ campus will be located, with Darlington one of the final shortlisted locations.
It is understood Mr Sunak will choose between Darlington, Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford as the winning town or city, with hundreds of businesses and dozens of Northern MPs already urging the Chancellor to bring the jobs to the Tees Valley.
Plans to bring Treasury North to the region have previously received cross party support from MPs, council leaders and other politicians, but there has been disagreement over the preferred location, with Teesside Airport and Middlesbrough town centre just some of the sites put forward.
However, it has now emerged Darlington is the preferred option for Government officials and the site being considered by the Chancellor, with its access to the East Coast Mainline one of the significant factors.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who has been working on the plans with Mr Sunak for more than 12 months, said: “If the reports are accurate and Darlington town centre has been shortlisted as a possible location for Treasury North, it shows that Whitehall officials accept our area would make a superb location as the Treasury’s new northern base.
“For over a year I’ve worked on a plan to secure these jobs for local people and in every conversation with Downing Street and the Treasury I’ve made it clear the only location that will achieve the government’s objectives is Teesside, Darlington or Hartlepool.
“The whole point of moving senior civil servants out of the capital is to dramatically change their outlook and better inform policy, something that simply cannot and will not happen if they move to another metropolitan city such as Leeds or Newcastle.
“Now is the time for the Chancellor to be at his bravest, for him to facedown the anonymous Sir Humphreys within the Treasury who think we don’t have enough culture to be home of the government’s more important and powerful department.
“Business leaders back my plan, major Universities back my plan, leaders from across the political spectrum back my plan and the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool back my plan – the questions is, will the Chancellor?”
The Government’s new Northern economic campus will initially see 750 Whitehall officials relocated from Westminster. Boris Johnson eventually wants to relocate 22,000 civil servants from London over the next decade.
Mr Sunak will also use his Budget to announce the location of his new infrastructure investment bank, a post-Brexit successor scheme for the European Investment Bank, which will be in northern England, according to reports in the Financial Times.
He could also use next week’s Budget to unveil the first Freeports across the UK, with Teesside amongst the front running bids.
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