Construction developer Kier has secured a £120m contract from the Government Property Agency to deliver a major new government office building in Darlington.

Work is set to begin this month on the new government hub on Brunswick Street, with construction expected to take around two years. The building is scheduled for completion in early 2028.

Once finished, the development will become the new home of the Darlington Economic Campus, accommodating more than 1,600 civil servants from departments including HM Treasury, the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

Early ground remediation works began in September to address pre-construction risks on the town centre site. These works included the removal of legacy fuel tanks and existing concrete slabs, helping to reduce programme risk ahead of main construction.

A central element of the scheme is Kier’s use of prefabrication. Key components, including building risers, will be manufactured offsite to minimise disruption and manage logistics in the busy urban location. The building façade will also be formed from pre-cast concrete panels produced offsite.

Sean Fenner, managing director of Kier Construction North & Scotland at Kier, said early involvement had enabled closer collaboration with the supply chain and early identification of technical challenges.

He added that the advance remediation works had improved understanding of site conditions, helping to de-risk delivery and support a smoother construction process. Fenner said teams across design, mechanical and electrical, and construction had been brought together to deliver the best possible outcome for the project.

Simon Hulme, capital projects director at the Government Property Agency, said the development was a key part of the government hubs programme, aimed at creating high-quality workplaces while reducing and modernising the public sector office estate.

He said the agency was pleased to continue its partnership with Kier and that, once complete, the Brunswick Street hub would provide a modern, inclusive and digitally enabled workplace that builds on the success of the Darlington Economic Campus and supports greater collaboration across the civil service.

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