The plan would house up to 5,000 civil servants and create a new public
park in a largely neglected approach to the city.
Regional Minister Phil Woolas said: “The masterplan is an exciting
vision and comes at a time when the Government is looking to move more
civil servants out of London and the South East.
“The benefits of the North West are obvious to all of us who live and
work here. This sort of proposed development can only enhance the
region’s reputation for attracting civil servants from the
south.”
Liz Meek, Regional Director for Government Office for the North West, said:
“The benefits of the proposed civil service campus are clear.
We are able to create greater efficiencies by redeveloping Government land
at the same time as regenerating an important part of the city centre.
“Most importantly, this will also create better joined-up government
delivering better public services for the people of the region.”
The masterplan was today submitted to planners by the owners of the land,
BRB (Residuary), a company wholly owned by the Department for Transport.
A spokesman said: “This document establishes guiding principles for
the future of Mayfield and sets out in detail how this now largely
neglected area of the city centre can be transformed by the imaginative use
of land currently owned by the Government.”
The masterplan focuses on the former Mayfield railway station and covers an
area bordered by the inner ring road to the south, Fairfield Street to the
north and London Road to the west.
To maximise the regeneration potential the proposals have also been
considered in the context of a wider city centre study area extending from
Ardwick to the south, Aytoun Street to the north and Whitworth Street to
the west.
Plans for the Mayfield area were first revealed in May when key Government
departments agreed to fund a feasibility study into the idea of
establishing a civil service campus on the site.
This would have the potential to house some 5,000 civil servants, bringing
together staff from across Greater Manchester with others relocating out of
London and the South East under the Government’s Operational
Efficiency Programme commitments.
The feasibility study, which is looking at the viability of the proposed
new civil service campus, is due to report in February.
Existing tenants have been kept in touch with the progress of the
masterplan and the proposals are expected to go to public consultation in
the New Year.
Government Office for the North West, the Highways Agency and the Training
and Development Agency have all announced plans to move to nearby
Piccadilly Gate, formerly Rail House, in 2010.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Manchester is
a city where organisations from all sectors want to invest, as these
ambitious plans clearly demonstrate. As well as creating new jobs for the
city, we would also see an area of the city centre regenerated in a lasting
and dramatic way.
“It is important that central government looks beyond Whitehall when
it comes to the location of staff, and I await with interest the outcome of
the public consultation."
Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service,
gave his backing to the proposal when he visited Manchester today. He was
speaking at Civil Service Live, an event which brings together civil
servants from around the country to share best practice and develop new
ways of delivering services.
He said: “A lot of people think the Civil Service is all about Sir
Humphreys tucked away in Whitehall, but 73 per cent of Civil Servants
actually work outside London. There are around 60,000 civil servants in the
North West, who work on the frontline, delivering public services that have
a vital role to play in helping the region through the downturn. A centre
such as this would help to make the Civil Service more efficient and
streamlined.”
