Government Preston office snub

Preston “desperately needs” more of the top quality office space that could attract government departments to the city, according to a local business group.

The comments come after Preston failed to feature on a list of 13 locations to which currently London-based civil servants are set to be relocated by the end of the decade as part of a Whitehall shake-up.

The city was absent from the target destinations in spite of an embryonic plan to create a regional “office hub” for government ministries as part of the redevelopment of the site currently occupied by the Fishergate Shopping Centre.

That blueprint  – put forward by the precinct’s owners, The Martin Property Group  – is yet to receive planning permission, but is an attempt to bring to life a vision for the wholesale transformation of the area around Preston station.

The Preston Station Quarter Regeneration Framework, which was published in 2022, set out an ambition to create a mix of new retail and leisure outlets on the shopping centre site, along with the kind of modern, high-quality office space that was deemed to be unavailable in the city.

The overall project – backed by Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council and the University of Central Lancashire – is likely to be at least a decade-long endeavour.

However, the outline plans drawn up by The Martin Property Group are based around a phased development, with the government-spec office space – in the form of separate nine and six-storey towers on the southern edge of the Fishergate car park  – to be delivered first.

That prospectus opens up the possibility that the facilities could have been ready within the timeframe for the government’s relocation plans.

Mark Whittle, manager of Preston’s Business Improvement District (BID), said the city had plenty to make it an appealing destination for such a move – except the one thing that mattered most.

“Whilst Preston has a good offering of space for the service sector, it desperately needs more ‘Grade A’ office facilities, in order to attract more organisations to locate here.

“We’re perfectly placed, transport-wise, to be able to offer employees an easy commute and a great workplace experience, thanks to the vibrancy of the city centre.

“We sincerely hope that Preston is successful in attracting more government employees to the North West region and that this becomes a catalyst for more organisations to consider Preston as a great place to base themselves,” Mark said.

Meanwhile, Preston City Council’s cabinet member for city regeneration, Valerie Wise, said Preston still had “very real ambitions to attract more inward investment and new Grade A office space in the city centre in order to retain existing public sector jobs”.

She also suggested the city could benefit from the expected overhaul of the local authority landscape in Lancashire.

“This latest government announcement is just about relocation from London, which hasn’t been on the cards for Preston thus far.

“But with a pending local government reorganisation and a potential mayoral combined county authority for Lancashire, there are new possibilities on the horizon – and Preston is working hard to ensure that it is in an excellent position, as a thriving and prosperous commercial gateway to Lancashire, to benefit from any new investment opportunities or government funding and initiatives.”

MISSED OPPORTUNITY?

In the late 2010s, it had been hoped that a proposed office development at the junction of Ringway and Corporation Street might ensure Preston benefitted from any future plans to move government departments out into the regions.

The Altus building, as it was known, was being eyed for the site previously occupied by the redundant Office Outlet store, which this year re-opened as a padel tennis centre. It had originally been intended that the new office estate would extend into the neighbouring Hill Street car park, but the building later underwent a redesign when it emerged the car park land would not be available.

However, the plans for the development never got off the drawing board.

GETTING GOVERNMENT OUT OF LONDON

The planned civil service overhaul will see two new government campuses created in Aberdeen, as well as roles relocated to Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York.

The cabinet office says the changes are projected to bring £729m worth of local economic benefits to those areas between 2024 and 2030.

The plan is for thousands of civil servants – including senior leaders – to be based in towns and cities across the UK.

The changes will also enable young people from across the UK to go straight from school or university into the civil service – and rise all the way up to the most senior roles – without ever having worked in Whitehall, the main hub of activity for government business,in London.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, said of the shift: “To deliver our Plan for Change, we are taking more decision-making out of Whitehall and moving it closer to communities all across the UK.

“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. We will also be making sure that Government jobs support economic growth throughout the country.

“As we radically reform the state, we are going to make it much easier for talented people everywhere to join the civil service and help us rebuild Britain.”