This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/manchester/8028291.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Plans made for city 'Whitehall' | Plans made for city 'Whitehall' |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The government is looking at the possibility of a "Whitehall" for north-west England. | The government is looking at the possibility of a "Whitehall" for north-west England. |
| Plans have been drawn up for a civil service "campus" at the abandoned Mayfield railway station, close to Piccadilly, in Manchester city centre. | |
| In total, more than 5,000 civil servants could be based on the Mayfield site by 2014, the government said. | In total, more than 5,000 civil servants could be based on the Mayfield site by 2014, the government said. |
| The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats questioned why the move out of the capital would take so long. | |
| Regional Minister Beverley Hughes and the city council's leader Sir Richard Leese unveiled the plans on Friday. | |
| Given the way the government's finances are at the moment it's not a dead cert is it? Simon Ashley, Liberal Democrat councillor | |
| The plans are part of a wider push to relocate 24,000 civil servant posts outside London. | The plans are part of a wider push to relocate 24,000 civil servant posts outside London. |
| Government Office for the North West, the Highways Agency and the Training and Development Agency are already due to move into Piccadilly Gate, close to Mayfield, next year. | Government Office for the North West, the Highways Agency and the Training and Development Agency are already due to move into Piccadilly Gate, close to Mayfield, next year. |
| The new proposal would expand this into a campus. | The new proposal would expand this into a campus. |
| Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "We are delighted with the announcement today, particularly at a time when good news is in short supply. | |
| "Manchester City Council and its partners will play a full and constructive role in working with Government to ensure this initiative is bought to fruition as quickly as possible." | "Manchester City Council and its partners will play a full and constructive role in working with Government to ensure this initiative is bought to fruition as quickly as possible." |
| The disused station will be transformed into a "Whitehall" campus | |
| The new development would be built to the highest environmental standards and will be in a parkland setting, the government said. | The new development would be built to the highest environmental standards and will be in a parkland setting, the government said. |
| Ms Hughes said the plans were a "really exciting opportunity" to create a "hub for Whitehall for the region". | |
| "The government is committed to moving civil service jobs away from London and the development of the site alongside Piccadilly Station presents a real opportunity for the city to seize the initiative," said Ms Hughes. | |
| "This also opens up the possibility of regenerating an important part of the city centre." | "This also opens up the possibility of regenerating an important part of the city centre." |
| Liberal Democrat councillor Simon Ashley said his local party welcomed any jobs devolved from London to Manchester, but questioned the 2014 date. | |
| Government 'waste' | |
| "Until then there are no jobs being devolved. In five years governments can change their capital programme and how much they spend on these things," said Mr Ashley. | |
| "My question is why have we got to wait another five years? There might be two general elections before that happens. | |
| "Given the way the government's finances are at the moment it's not a dead cert is it?" | |
| Councillor Faraz Bhatti, Conservative councillor for Whalley Range, said the decision was "long overdue". | |
| "The government has been promising to move civil servants out of London for 12 years," he said. | |
| "Only last year we learned how £320m is being wasted on 122 acres of space in empty government office buildings. | |
| "At a time when most of us are feeling the pinch, this kind of waste must stop." |