200 new jobs created in Darlington as part of new Treasury site

Darlington town centre

Hundreds of new jobs will be created in the North East as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) opens new offices as part of government plans to level up regions across the UK.

The Darlington Economic Campus, a new shared site in the north east for the Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Department for Education, will have almost 200 DCMS staff based there.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: "The days of London-centric decision making belong in the past. It’s an exciting time for DCMS as we expand our regional offices and tap into a more diverse talent pool.

"Our strength comes from our people and this will allow us to recruit the best, wherever they may be, to deliver the wide range of DCMS policies which drive growth and enrich lives all over the UK."

The move comes following the government’s publication of its Levelling Up White Paper.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has also commented on the move, saying: “Securing the Treasury’s new northern HQ for Darlington was a huge coup for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

"At the time I said this would just be the first of many departments to move north, and since the Budget in March last year the Department for International Trade, the business Department, the Department for Levelling Up, the Office of National Statistics and the Competition and Markets Authority have all announced major staff relocations to Darlington. 

“Today’s announcement that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is joining them means that more than 1,700 senior civil servants will be based here, and I’m pleased that recruitment to fill these senior Whitehall roles with local people has already begun.

 “Having these government jobs in our region not only means local people can work at the heart of government in some of the most important departments without having to leave the region they love and call home, but it also means local views and experiences can inform government which will lead to policies that better reflect the country as a whole.”