North East reacts to Darlington being chosen as location for Government's new Treasury North

Newcastle, Bradford and Leeds previously made the shortlist, with hundreds of businesses and dozens of Northern MPs urging the Chancellor to bring the jobs to the Tees Valley.

The move comes after Mr Sunak sought to deliver on the Government’s “levelling up” agenda with a £4 billion fund for local improvement projects and a new national infrastructure bank headquartered in the North of England.

READ MORE: Where could the Treasury be based in Darlington? Four possible locations

It has been said that access to the East Coast Mainline is one of the significant factors for the choice.

Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen has been working on the plans with the Chancellor for 12 months.

He praised the Budget delivered by Mr Sunak, saying it gives Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool a “seat at the top table of Government,” after Rishi Sunak revealed that the Treasury’s new Northern Economic Campus, dubbed ‘Treasury North’ will be heading to Darlington.

Relocating a significant part of the Treasury out of London is the centrepiece of Downing Street’s plan to move more than 22,000 senior government civil servants out of the capital by 2030 as part of its levelling up agenda.

In a major coup for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool the region beat off competition from Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford to be home of the Treasury’s second headquarters.

The historic move was backed by the overwhelming majority of local people, more than 150 local business leaders, both Teesside and Durham Universities as well as support from all five local council leaders.

Mr Sunak’s decision will see 750 senior civil servants from the Treasury, along with other economic based departments, move to Darlington town centre, with the first members of Treasury staff possibly arriving in a matter of months.

Along with senior civil service government ministers, including the Chancellor, will be expected to spend a significant amount of time at the new headquarters.

Mr Houchen said: “The most powerful department in Government will soon beat with a Darlington heart.

“With the incredible announcement that Treasury North is coming to Darlington, hundreds of top Treasury jobs are heading to our region. For too long areas like Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have been left behind and local people could be forgiven for thinking that we were often an afterthought.

"Well, that ends today. This move will put 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.

“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 this great region.

“Over the last 12 months I’ve lobbied, badgered and harassed anyone who would listen. From Rishi Sunak and the Prime Minister to senior civil servants and MPs, we deserve a seat at the top table of Government and I’m proud to say that we were able to come up with an offer they couldn’t refuse. Our voice was heard.

“This shows that Rishi is a true Chancellor of the North. He’s a Chancellor that understands the old ways don’t work anymore. He knew we couldn’t continue to allow vital decisions affecting our area to be made by bureaucrats in London who have never travelled north of the Watford Gap.

“We’ve come through many trials and tribulations in recent years, but now is our time.” 

Peter Gibson, MP for Darlington, said: “Rishi has delivered for Darlington, bringing the heart of Government to our town shows faith, and trust in what we have to offer and lays out clearly just what levelling up can mean. This really is the icing in the cake”

Heather Scott, Leader of Darlington Council, said: “I cannot over emphasise just how fantastic this news is for Darlington and the Tees Valley region as a whole.  Darlington is ideally placed with good rail, road and air connectivity for any businesses coming to the Tees Valley region and with the Treasury literally on our doorstep this can only be an added incentive.

“I have been delighted to work with Mayor Ben Houchen who has worked tirelessly to put Tees Valley firmly on the map for this Government’s levelling up agenda and it is clear that this huge news will benefit people across the region.

“Our ambition is for Darlington to be the place where people want to come to live, work and play. With our unique Heritage Culture, our Hippodrome Theatre, our Railway Museum, our historical Indoor Market, the excellent high standard of our housing and easy access to our remarkable regional countryside anyone moving here will have plenty to enjoy and explore.

“We are ready and will work effectively and constructively to ensure that we can meet the requirements to make this relocation as easy as possible for all and we are looking forward to early discussions with officials.”

Debbie Francis, City Executive for the North at Arcadis and board representative to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: "This is a vote of confidence in North. I hope moving parts of government to our great Northern towns and cities acts as an incentive for other organisations and businesses to follow suit, in part or in full. It will have a greater impact on stimulating economic growth than the direct employment of any government jobs themselves.

"We must still ensure real powers and funding are devolved to metro mayors and local leaders to deliver the Government’s levelling up agenda but this is certainly a step in the right direction."

Karl Pemberton, The North East (Tees) chair of the Institute of Directors, said: “This news is one of the most important announcements for the North East in decades. Policy makers are locate a main economic function of the Government to the North of England and have chosen a town in the North east.

"This will help ‘level up’ our area. Where the Government leads others should follow. Tees Valley had one of the first LEPs ten years ago, was an early to devolution with an effective elected Mayor, now we are to pioneer of the new ‘levelling up’ policy. Jobs and investment should be the long term result of this move, which our members will enthusiastically support.”

Labour Candidate for Tees Valley Mayor, Jessie Jo Jacobs, said: “It is great news that the Treasury jobs are coming to Darlington town centre. I’m delighted. 

“That is what I wanted and campaigned for all along. It had to be one of our fantastic town centres. This will be a massive and very welcome boost for Darlington.

“Between 2010 and 2020, the number of civil servants fell by 6,680 in the North East but rose by 5,130 in London. 

“So this is great news. It will bring jobs and investment to the town, increase footfall and spending on the high street and put the potential of the Tees into the sight and thinking of Government.

“But this has to be just the start of a sustained push to bring new, quality jobs to the area so we can build a better future for our towns and our people after a decade of decline.”

Paul Howell MP for Sedgefield said: "We have seen speculation for a while that a Treasury North would be delivered. The announcement of a campus for Treasury, BEIS, MHCLG and DIT to be located in Darlington is just fantastic for us all but in particular our young people.

"This may be about relocating some jobs in the first instance but longer term it will deliver more great career opportunities for our people which will mean more of them can stay and work locally. A critical part of this relocation will be that we will have key decision makers located in our region enabling them to fully understand the different challenges that exist outside of London and the other metropolitan centres.

"To have this combined with a Freeport for Teesside which will support local economic growth throughout the region can be transformative. I welcome these announcements and they are a clear and obvious step in levelling up."

Ian Beaumont, office senior partner at KPMG in the North East, said: “The North East will be heartened by the focus it has received in today’s Budget, with port infrastructure to support offshore wind projects in Teesside, a Teesside freeport, and the government’s new Treasury North location all major fillips to put the region firmly on the map and drive its transformation and economic recovery.

“As part of the government’s levelling up agenda, its decision to bring its new Treasury North to Darlington will help to boost local growth and create job opportunities across the region.

“Teesside’s successful Freeport bid will be a boon to the wider North East economy that will spur innovation, job creation and trade for years to come. The region is perfectly placed to leverage the opportunities presented by the freeport, which is expected to bring in hundreds of millions in total gross added value to our economy and create thousands of jobs.

“Freeports will have an important role in helping us build towards a more sustainable future, but also in creating the means for greater social mobility and economic opportunity. The Chancellor’s announcement will be widely welcomed across the whole of the North East.”

The Rt Revd Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham said: “I am delighted to see the announcements in today’s Budget of two significant investments in jobs and prosperity for the North East namely the establishment of the Treasury Northern campus in Darlington and the creation of one of the nine English Freeport zones in Teesside. It would have been even better if we had been awarded two Freeports as was hoped!

“The North East has a long and rich heritage of rising to the challenge of new industries. The current operations in offshore and other renewable energy, subsea work and continuing activities in the automotive industry offer great opportunities. Now we can add government and trade link development. It is a very exciting time and I am thrilled that the North East will be their new home.

“Sadly this investment was not matched by the limited extension of the uplift in Universal Credit until September. Our most needy families and households really needed this to be for at least the next 12 months.

“The Chancellor does have a deeply unenviable job and deserves credit for many brave actions over the past year. I remain concerned that those in deepest need of support are not at the forefront of every decision being made.”