Civil servants 'looking at homes in Harrogate' if government departments move to York

The Times reported on Saturday that many high-ranking government officials are enthusiastic about proposals to turn York into the UK's 'second city' by moving the House of Lords there, and are open to relocating to Yorkshire.

The source claimed that civil servants whose departments may move to York had already been 'eyeing up' properties on Rightmove - yet had been looking in the spa town of Harrogate, which is almost 20 miles away and has a long-established reputation as Yorkshire's most desirable place to live.

This is the industrial site in York where the new House of Lords could be built

They have reportedly been delighted to see 'substantial Edwardian villas' for sale for the same price as a terraced house in the London suburb of East Dulwich.

Government departments will submit their plans to move thousands of jobs to regional hubs by the end of this summer. A site on the York Central development, close to York Station, has been identified as a possible location for a new House of Lords chamber and a review is currently underway.

Although no final decisions have been made, there is a clear commitment from the government to decentralise political power and form hubs around the country.

If the Lords did move to York - a proposal first suggested in January - then many civil service roles would also migrate to complement the new structure.

The Times' source did not even rule out the possibility that the Home Office could eventually move north.

The Treasury is also looking at a new base on Teesside.

The increase in home working during lockdown has accelerated the plans, as civil servants will now be able to work flexibly from various locations and hubs.

Preliminary plans submitted to the Cabinet Office by each department will be assessed to see how many staff can feasibly be redeployed.

York's rail connections to London and Edinburgh were crucial in it being chosen as a policy hub. There are also already large civil service clusters in Leeds and Sheffield.

It's also thought that York is large enough to generate more private sector employment as a result of the arrival of large numbers of jobs in the public sector, rather than the government roles 'swallowing' the local jobs market as would be the case in a smaller city.

Yet the news that senior officials are looking to live in Harrogate rather than York was met with bemusement on Twitter, with some Harrogate residents pointing out that the commuter train between the two stations is notoriously slow.

Northern's 7.13am service from Harrogate to Leeds was the most cancelled train in the country between December 2019 and March 2020. Harrogate is on a line between Leeds and York on which split services to both cities are operated.

NHS programme manager Neil Hind, who lives in Harrogate, said: "That Harrogate to York train at 7am in winter is much fun. Yes, it really is single-track and one train needs to sit there until the other one passes!"

York Council is also pushing ahead with plans to become one of the first city centres in the country to ban cars, so any government hub that encouraged staff to live further afield and drive to work would be poorly received locally.