Temporary location for ‘Number 10 North’ in Manchester city centre reportedly confirmed

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The temporary location for the new Number 10 North project has been announced.

You may remember that earlier last month, it was revealed that Andy Burnham had intentions to create a Number 10 North if he was to become Prime Minister, and now that he is, more details on this move to Manchester have been revealed.

Number 10 North is expected to be a ‘dominant driver of the UK’s economy’ once it’s officially up and running, Government ministers say.

According to BBC News reports, civil servants working for Government departments based in London have been offered relocation packages to encourage them to move to the northern base in Manchester, which is said to be being overseen by cabinet minister and ally of Andy Burnham, Louise Haigh.

The temporary location for ‘Number 10 North’ in Manchester city centre has reportedly been confirmed / Credit: gov.uk (via Wikimedia Commons)

Haigh – who is the first secretary of state – has reportedly been asked, according to the BBC, to have been asked to lead a new Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC), which will give her control of key decision-making bodies across Government.

The OPMC will include No 10 and No 10 North, as well as other teams within the Cabinet Office.

It is understood, according to the same BBC reports, that the initial temporary location of No 10 North will be Heron House, just off Albert Square in central Manchester, which is the same building that currently houses offices for the intelligence service GCHQ, and where eyewitnesses have spotted police officers guarding in recent days.

The longer-term base for Number 10 North, however, is expected to be at the new Government ‘Digital Campus’, which is currently under construction in the Ancoats and is not due for completion until 2032.

An idea of what Number 10 North could look like down the line has been shared by Britain’s leading public services think tank, Re:State, this week.

The new blueprint sets out a possible recruitment plan, with reports suggests around 300 staff should be employed within 18 months.

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Alongside Whitehall officials who are willing to move to Manchester, it is also likely there will be a significant movement of staff from Burnham’s former mayoral team at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the BBC reports.

You can discover more about the plans for Number 10 North here.

Featured Image – The Manc Group

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