Last month, the Government Property Agency (GPA) closed 1 Victoria Street, London. This is a major step forward in consolidating government buildings and reducing the number of buildings in central London.
Former clients of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – now the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) – in Whitehall. Along with other sites, it will relocate to the hub redevelopment site at 3-8 Whitehall Place, 55 Whitehall and 22-26 Whitehall.
The closure of this approximately 30,000 square meter building will result in significant savings of approximately £30 million in annual running costs and a net present value (NPV) of approximately £300 million over 20 years.
GPA is upgrading the rest of its London facilities to create high-quality shared workspaces that enable smarter ways of working. These buildings will form a dynamic and flexible campus that can accommodate the future needs of his 40,000 civil servant roles in the heart of Whitehall.
The Whitehall Campus Program will help refurbished and energy-efficient buildings become more sustainable, more cost-effective and greener, helping to meet the Government’s net zero targets.
Reducing our central London footprint by 55% will also support our Place for Growth planning by allowing us to deploy more civil service roles across all countries and regions of the UK.