The government has announced a major acceleration of its Whitehall Campus Programme, which aims to reduce the central London government estate by 55% and create a campus of shared workspaces across the country. It is committing to cutting the number of roles in London by another 12,000 by closing 11 offices in the capital to save £94 million a year by 2032.
The changes, some of which have already been announced by the Government Property Agency, will mean two new campuses are opened in Manchester and Aberdeen, and roles created in other towns and cities.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said in a statement that decision-making would be moved "closer to communities all across the UK". He added: "By relocating thousands of civil service roles we will not only save taxpayers money, we will make this government one that better reflects the country it serves."
The Westminster offices of the Ministry of Justice at 102 Petty France, which Landsec owns and previously sought to sell for £500 million, and the Department of Health and Social Care at 39 Victoria Street, which Ho Bee Land has sought to sell for £155 million, as well as the Department for Work and Pensions at Caxton House, which is owned by M&G, will be shut along with eight other central London buildings, with staff moved to other parts of the government estate.
The Caxton House exit had already been announced as happening in 2026. The Government Property Agency has already projected that the long-running Whitehall Campus Programme will see a reduction from 84 buildings to around 20 buildings across London, which is planned to accommodate 40,000 civil servants by 2030.
Earlier this week the GPA closed the doors at another two London properties as part of its estates rationalisation programme, as it targets £32 million of cost savings this financial year. Windsor House and Albany House closed in September and November 2024 respectively, with civil servants relocated to other properties on the existing government office estate.
In January last year, the GPA closed 1 Victoria Street in London, which it says has started to generate substantial savings of approximately £30 million in annual running costs and around £300 million 20-year net present value.
Through the Windsor House closure, the GPA has relocated 1,200 civil servants from Homes England, Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service, National Savings and Investments and the Office of Manpower Economics to other locations across the existing estate. Around 500 civil servants were relocated from Albany House.
The announcements will again put investors and developers on red alert about major investment opportunities in prime central London. The GPA has previously said the Whitehall Campus programme will release more than 312,000 square metres (3.34 million square feet) of space – the equivalent of around 44 football pitches - by 2030.
Iain Mulvey, business development director at Graham + Sibbald, said it was "great news for the UK regions yesterday including Manchester and Aberdeen in getting further civil service jobs relocated from London".
Focusing on the released space he said: "This will of course have interesting knock on implications for the Victoria submarket. 102 Petty France is circa 550,000 square foot alone and Caxton House and others will see other major redevelopment opportunities come forward. In the past government buildings such as Abell House and Cleland House went to residential use. Westminster City Council itself through its Ebury Bridge project is already bringing forward both private and affordable new homes in Victoria alongside others. Although prime office rents in Victoria at circa £90 per square foot are somewhat below the Mayfair and St James’ level, developers and agents will no doubt be watching on with interest."
Alongside the new campuses in Manchester and Aberdeen the government said in its announcement that new roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York.
Three major new government campuses will be created, it said.
The first two of these, the new Government Digital and AI Innovation Campus and Energy Campus, will be in Manchester and Aberdeen.
Manchester is already home to the second headquarters of DSIT and DCMS, as well as a key base for GCHQ.
Aberdeen is the site of DESNZ’s second HQ, and the new HQ for Great British Energy.