Initial preparation for construction has begun on the site of the new Manchester Digital Campus, which will be home to around 8,800 civil servants.
Contractors have moved onto the site at Ancoats in central Manchester and have begun preparing the ground to enable the main construction to begin – a process known as ‘groundworks’.
The work includes breaking up and crushing concrete slabbing, removing redundant drainage and utilities, reducing the levels of the site – which is a former retail park – and conducting further ground investigations and surveys in readiness for the main build, which is scheduled to start in 2028.
Teams will also lay temporary tracks across the 5.5 acre site for construction machinery.
Built on brownfield land, the MDC will bring together approximately 8,800 people from multiple government departments with a focus on digital delivery.
Part of the Cabinet Office’s Places for Growth programme, the campus will principally be delivered by the Government Property Agency in close collaboration with all the government departments involved.
Philippa Harvey, senior responsible owner for the MDC programme, said getting to this point has been the result of “extraordinary efforts from a huge number of people across government in Manchester and the wider region".
She said MDC “is not just a new building – it is a transformation of how government works, bringing together digitally focused departments at scale in a purpose-built environment, fully embedded in the community we serve”.
Manchester City Council acquired the site in 2017. The Treasury approved an outline business case to create the campus in March this year and the GPA purchased the 5.5-acre site from MCC later that month.
The government has set 2032 as the target opening date for the campus, which will have around 900,000 sq ft of purpose-built workspace across two buildings.
Harvey said the new campus “will help to harness the North West's digital expertise and foster collaboration across departments and the wider digital sector in the region”. The programme is also expected to help government to reach its ambition of having one in 10 civil servants in technology and digital roles by 2030, compared to just over 5% currently.
Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council and deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, said: "This is a significant moment for Manchester. Transforming this derelict site will support almost 9,000 government jobs being concentrated in Manchester and around 5,000 construction jobs.
"This investment by the government in the future of Manchester, and Greater Manchester, will cement our growing global reputation as a hub for digital and cyber industries."