The Government is to be lobbied to move civil service departments from Whitehall to Northamptonshire by politicians in the county.
Officials at Northamptonshire County Council this week launched their ‘10 Point Plan’ to boost the county’s economy.
The document includes plans to lobby the Government to move some of its workers to the county as well as a scheme to push for the development of a ‘world-class medical facility’ in Northamptonshire.
The leader of Northamptonshire County Council, Councillor Jim Harker (Con, Kettering Rural) presented the 27-page document to the Prime Minister last week.
Disussing the plans, he said: “I think it’s essential to ask the Government to move some of its departments here.
“I know there are quite a few hurdles in the way when you try to move Government departments out of the Metropolis, and of course we’re always in competition with other parts of the country. But we do have a lot to offer here, such as our scheme to provide high-speed broadband across the county.
“We also have good quality offices and with the rising cost of offices in London, moving some departments here would make good economic sense for the Government.”
The council has also asked the Government for help to boost the number of school places in the county to cope with the area’s growth and to back the creation of a leading medical facility.
Councillor Harker said: “Nobody can fail to notice the pressure our existing hospitals are under at the moment. So I think we need to take a really serious look at how medical provision is going to be provided in the years to come.”
The document also asks the Government to support the council’s plans to build a new headquarters for the authority in Northampton town centre.
The 10 point plan looks at a range of issues facing Northamptonshire including:
Creating the infrastructure to back housing growth
Implementing superfast broadband across the county
Developing Northamptonshire’s logistics and distribution sector
Bringing investment from Europe into the county
Regenerating town centres
Equipping people with the right skills for jobs.
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