Government Hubs - Government Property Agency

Redefining the Government’s office estate

The Government Hubs Programme has been developed to create an efficient, fit-for-purpose and sustainable estate.

As part of its purpose, this programme is driving a radical reshaping of the Civil Service office estate and is also a key part of the 2018 Government Estate Strategy to create great places to work for civil servants, while consolidating the central office estate.

The Government Hubs Programme focuses on transforming the central government’s office estate by accommodating departmental workforces in shared regional hubs across all four nations of the United Kingdom, kickstarting the economic growth of the UK.

The programme will also reduce the number of buildings in Central London, as roles continue to be relocated outside of Central London as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.

Through the Government Hubs Programme, we are delivering modern, customer-focused, digitally-connected and inclusive workplaces to enable government departments to share space and work productively.

Hubs present the opportunity for:

Shared vision

Government hubs are located in all four nations of the United Kingdom and are designed to achieve a shared vision of transforming the central government’s ageing office estate, ensuring it is more efficient, digitally connected and will support modern ways of working.

Increasing efficiencies

By providing best value through commercial expertise, while increasing productivity to enable efficient, collaborative, and flexible working.

Reducing costs

By enabling departments to release excess space and optimise the use of existing government space, releasing money back to the public purse.

Quality estate

Supporting the Civil Service transformation by creating ‘great places to work’, supporting inclusivity, health and wellbeing enabling efficient, collaborative, innovative, inclusive and flexible workspaces.

Government priorities

Ensuring the estate is fit for purpose, and meets relevant policy priorities and statutory requirements. Adding capacity to the regions.

Where it all began

In 2014, HMRC launched its own ‘hubs’ initiative – Building our Future programme. The purpose was to reduce its estate from 170 offices down to just 14 regional centres, known as hubs.

The concept was then included in the Government’s overall drive to rationalise its public sector estate. And the Government Property Agency was created in 2018 to lead the transformation, known as the Government Hubs Programme.

So far, 24 hubs have opened across the UK:

Erskine House, Belfast

Erskine House, Belfast, opened in 2022. The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) hub on Chichester Street is a short walk from Belfast City Hall and is home to 1,600 civil servants working to deliver great services. The modern, hi-tech building enables departments to work in new ways, delivering an effective service for customers and providing a modern and collaborative working environment for staff.

23 Stephenson Street, Birmingham

The hub was officially opened in July 2022. Eight silo, inefficient government office buildings were closed as civil servants relocated to the new hub. This has saved an estimated £2 million per annum in operating costs, returning money to the public purse. More than 1,700 civil servants from across 20 Government departments now work from the hub, designed to the Government Workplace Design Guide standards.

3 Arena Central, Birmingham

Three Arena Central was opened by HMRC in 2020. The hub is spread across 13 floors with a modern and inclusive working environment. It is home to 4,600 civil servants from three Government departments including around 3,500 from HMRC along with staff from the Department for Work and Pensions and Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

3 Glass Wharf, Bristol

Three Glass Wharf was opened in 2019. The HMRC hub accommodates 1,650 staff from several Government departments across its eight floors. The building is part of a regeneration area near Bristol’s Temple Meads Station and is the second of HMRC’s 14 new regional hubs to open. The department expects to save more than £300 million by 2025 as a result of its hubs programme – and make annual savings of about £90 million by 2026.

Tŷ William Morgan, Cardiff

Named after Bishop William Morgan, who translated the Bible into Welsh in the 16th century, the Tŷ William Morgan hub was opened in 2022. The hub, managed by HMRC, is part of the department’s wider estates and transformation work across the UK. It is the 11th new regional centre to be formally opened as part of HMRC’s estates programme. Spread across 12 floors the hub accommodates more than 4,500 civil servants from HMRC and 500 staff from 12 other Government departments.

1 Ruskin Square, Croydon

Opened in 2017, the HMRC hub also accommodates VOA, HM Prison and Probation Service and the Government Legal Department, with around 2,500 staff based in the building.

2 Ruskin Square, Croydon

The new headquarters for the Home Office, 2 Ruskin Square was opened in October 2024 and accommodates around 800 civil servants. The 10-storey building is part of the Ruskin Square development next to East Croydon station. It is the biggest Government Hub delivered by the GPA to date.

Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh

The HMRC Edinburgh Regional Centre, and UK Government Hub, was formally opened in September 2022. The seven-storey building at 1 Sibbald Walk is in the heart of Edinburgh. HMRC is delivering the Edinburgh hub on behalf of the Government and was the largest department based there when the first teams moved in from April 2020. The modern office space brings together nearly 3,000 civil servants from 10 departments. The keys to the building were formally handed over to the Government in June 2019.

Feethams House, Darlington

Feethams House was refurbished into a more efficient and sustainable cross-Government Hub as a temporary facility for the Darlington Economic Campus. It is allowing recruitment into the local area of specialist skills while the permanent facility is being constructed. The Government Hub is located on the site of the old Beaumont Street car park, a five-minute walk from Darlington train station which provides access to the east coast mainline and direct connections to London. The five-storey hub is occupied by civil servants and forms a key part of the Government’s UK-wide estate.

1 Atlantic Square, Glasgow

The Glasgow Regional Centre and UK Government hub was formally opened in 2022. The state-of-the-art 10 storey building at Atlantic Square, which is also the base for the Cabinet Office’s second headquarters, is home to 2,600 HMRC and 270 Cabinet Office roles. By 2025, the building will be the base for 3,500 FTE civil servants.

10 South Colonnade, London

The Government Hub at 10 South Colonnade was opened in 2018. The refurbished building has 17 floors and forms part of the Government Estates Strategy, which sets out plans to reduce the number of Government buildings from 800 to 200 by 2030, to save an estimated £2.5bn in running costs over 20 years. The hub, based in Canary Wharf, is home to staff from departments including HMRC, the Ministry of Justice and regulators including Ofgem.

Government Offices Great George Street, London

Government Offices Great George Street (GOGGS) is a large UK Government office building situated in Westminster between Horse Guards Road, Great George Street, Parliament Street, King Charles Street and Parliament Square. HM Treasury has been based at GOGGS, which spans across eight floors in Whitehall, since 1940.

Sanctuary Buildings, London

Sanctuary Buildings is a Grade II listed building in the heart of Westminster. This Government Hub, made up of eight floors arranged around a large central atrium, provides a sustainable and streamlined office environment for the Department for Education (DfE) ensuring its headquarters are fit for purpose for years to come.

Old Admiralty Building, London

The Old Admiralty Building (OAB) is the first Government Hub delivered by the GPA's Whitehall Campus Programme, which aims to consolidate and rationalise the Government’s London estate. The six-storey hub was built in three phases from 1888 to 1905 and located just south of Trafalgar Square. The GPA is the landlord.

Wellington Place, Leeds

The state-of-the-art building in Leeds at 7 & 8 Wellington Place is in the heart of the city centre and was formally opened in 2022. The hub, spread across seven floors with a modern and inclusive working environment, enables collaborative working and is home to around 7,500 civil servants, including more than 4,000 from HMRC and VOA.

India Buildings, Liverpool

The Liverpool Government Hub in India Buildings was formally opened in May 2022. The award-winning Grade II* listed building is home to around 5,000 HMRC employees and has been restored to provide a modern and inclusive working environment. The nine-storey building has been open since August 2021.

Unity Square, Nottingham

The Unity Square hub is home to HMRC and is managed by the Government department. No.1 Unity Square is a stunning building with 10 floors, right in the heart of the city, and is located next to Nottingham's train station. The hub provides a flexible, modern working environment and serves as a remarkable landmark for commuters arriving at the train station, providing the sort of impressive development you would expect on arrival in one of the UK’s major cities.

Quay House, Peterborough

The Peterborough hub was officially opened in March, 2023. It forms a key part of the £120 million regeneration project in Fletton Quays. The seven-storey hub will house more than 1,000 Government staff from a number of departments and agencies. Staff from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Home Office’s Passport Office will be based there permanently, with room for more roles which may relocate to the city from London.

Three New Bailey, Salford

Opened in May 2022, the hub is occupied by 3,000 staff at HMRC and VOA.

2 Smithfield, Stoke-on-Trent

The hub is occupied by staff at the Home Office, who commenced migration into the building from April 2023.

14 Westfield Avenue, Stratford

Occupied by nearly 5,000 HMRC staff, 14 Westfield Avenue comprises 27,490 sqm and was opened in March 2021.

3-8, 55 Whitehall

Opened in January 2024, the Grade II listed building underwent a GPA-led modernisation to create open plan workspaces, meeting rooms, wellbeing and recovery rooms. The hub is occupied by staff at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

22-26 Whitehall

Comprised of the historic Ripley and Kirkland Buildings, the hub accommodates nearly 1,600 staff at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.