An invitation to tender will be released using the CCS Construction Works Framework for the new office complex, which will be located at Brunswick Street in Darlington.

Planned timings for the project were released after the GPA confirmed it had just purchased from McLaren Property the site for Whitehall’s second home for the Civil Service.

Details of the scope and size of the project have still to be released. But it is known the new permanent site will accommodate over 1,400 civil servants, more than doubling on the capacity of the current Feethams House building being used by the Treasury as a temporary home in the city.

The DEC at Brunswick Street will house up to eight government departments including HM Treasury as well as Department for Trade and Business.

Under the present timetable, construction of the base is now expected to start in October 2024, with completion lined up for 2026.

The DEC is an important part of the Government’s Places for Growth (PfG) programme, which is moving roles out of London to areas across the UK.

The programme will see 22,000 roles move from London by 2030 and is part of ensuring that staff working in government are closer to the people and communities that they serve.