Following the announcement in the Spring Budget that the Treasury’s second headquarters will be set up in Darlington, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has wasted no time pushing the relocation forward.
In his first call with Sir Tom Scholar, Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, since the announcement Mayor Houchen offered to do all he could to assist in the relocation of senior civil servants to Darlington.
To support the relocation and to ensure it goes ahead as smoothly as possible Mayor Houchen has set up a local delivery group to oversee and coordinate the move. The group includes Darlington Council, the North East Chambers of Commerce, Tees Valley Business Club, Teesside and Durham Universities and Darlington FE college.
Delivering his Budget, Rishi Sunak confirmed that Darlington had beat off competition from Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford to be home of the Treasury’s new Northern Economic Campus, dubbed ‘Treasury North.’
The new HQ will be home to 750 senior Whitehall officials form the Chancellor’s department, along with other economic based departments, with the first members of Treasury staff possibly arriving in the town in a matter of months.
The Prime Minister has made clear that along with senior members of the civil service government ministers, including the Chancellor, will be expected to spend a significant amount of time at Treasury North.
Mayor Houchen said: “Securing Treasury North for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool is an amazing achievement and means that the most powerful department in Government will soon beat with a Darlington heart.
“But now we need to deliver Treasury North and get it up and running as quickly, and as smoothly, as possible.
“Speaking to the Permanent Secretary it was clear he is committed to making the move a success and I look forward to working with him to push this truly transformational policy forward. The hard decision has now been made, now we must make Treasury North a reality. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity than cannot be undone, it puts local priorities and local people from across our area at the heart of Government, as well as creating good quality, well-paid jobs for local people.
“With the Treasury on our doorstep and senior civil servants living here, our children will grow up with the confidence that a top government job is within reach and that such a top career can be built right here in our great region.
“As we recovery from Covid, this allows us to not only recover but come back bigger, better and stronger than ever.”
