Government scraps bringing jobs to Stoke-on-Trent in major blow for city

A government body based in Stoke-on-Trent is being shut down - just months after the government said it was committed to keeping it in the city. Last year the Conservative government announced that the Office for Place (OfP) would become an arm's length body, responsible for ensuring good design in new housing developments, to be based in Stoke-on-Trent.

But now the Labour government has decided to break up the OfP and redeploy its staff within the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government across the country. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the functions of the OfP can be more efficiently carried out by the department itself.

But this comes less than three months after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said that it was 'committed to keeping the Office for Place in Stoke-on-Trent' and was in the process of finding a permanent base in the city. The OfP, which had been leasing desk space at the Civic Centre in Stoke, launched a recruitment drive for a chief executive and other top officers during the summer.

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Mr Pennycook insisted that the decision would not affect other commitments to Stoke-on-Trent. In a written statement to the House of Commons, he said: "It was announced in July 2023 that the Office for Place, previously a small team in the then Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, would become an arm's length body to be based in Stoke-on-Trent. Work to establish the office has continued since then.

"I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the interim board, led by Nicholas Boys Smith as chair, and the Office for Place team for their exemplary work on this important issue. In putting design and quality at the heart of the housing supply agenda and establishing the principles of design coding and embedding them in practice across the planning and development sectors, Nicholas and the team have made a significant contribution.

"Alongside spending decisions taken at the Budget and the re-setting of departmental budgets, the Deputy Prime Minister and I have, however, concluded that support to improve the quality and design of new homes and places can be more efficiently and effectively delivered by the department itself.

"The Office for Place will therefore be closed down and the expertise of its staff redeployed within the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government across the country. I would like to reassure the House that this will not impact on wider government commitments to Stoke-on-Trent, including the award of £19.8 million for their Levelling Up Partnerships programme."

Last month it was revealed that the Home Office had shelved plans to build a £41 million office building as part of Hanley's Smithfield development, and would instead look to sign a long-term lease for existing office space in the city. Around 500 Home Office jobs have been created in the city over the last two years.

Dan Jellyman, leader of the opposition Conservative group on Stoke-on-Trent City Council, condemned the OfP decision. He said: "The Labour government is taking civil service jobs from out city, in their efforts to stop Stoke-on-Trent being successful. The loss of this government department does not only mean jobs are lost, but the opportunity for more civil service roles to come to Stoke-on-Trent. This signals that it's only a matter of time until they take the Home Office jobs back to London, now they've scrapped plans for a permanent building in the city centre."

A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We know that the Government has had to make some very hard choices with respect to use of limited resources and it is understandable that they are prioritising front-line imperatives such as tackling homelessness and increasing house-building.

"Nevertheless, the city was proud to provide a home for the Office during their brief existence and we hope that the Government will consider the benefit of maintaining some of the national Chief Planner’s newly expanded team here in the city."

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