Two new office hubs are set to be developed in Birmingham and Peterborough as part of a major government programme.

The Government Hubs programme has seen the development of 14 hubs around the country, providing civil servants with state-of-the-art working environments designed to boost efficiency and drive savings through increased efficiency.

These latest projects will see key city centre sites regenerated in Peterborough and Birmingham, bringing different departments under one roof.

The Minister for Implementation at the Cabinet Office, Simon Hart, said: "The opening of these new hubs is great news for local businesses in Birmingham and Peterborough.

"Developing Government hubs helps to bring forward vital regeneration projects across the country and boost local economies.

"It also makes sure government workers have the best possible facilities and saves taxpayers' money by replacing outdated office blocks which are expensive to maintain with more modern facilities."

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The new hub in Birmingham will be based at Platform 21, which is inside the former Woolworths building in the New Street Conservation area. The hub will be developed by LaSalle Investment Management working with development manager Evenacre and from 2021 will be home to about 1,700 civil servants.

The development is the second hub to be announced in Birmingham, following 3 Arena Central which will house a further 3,600 civil servants when it opens in 2021.

In Peterborough, a development on the Fletton Quays site, close to the city centre, will provide space for about 1,000 government employees who will move into the building in 2021.

The development is part of a £120m regeneration of the Fletton Quays site led by Peterborough Investment Partnership and site developer Bride Hall.

Steven Boyd, the Chief Executive of the Government Property Agency, which is responsible for the hubs programme, commented: "The Government Property Agency is at the heart of creating great places to work for civil servants. Our announcement today marks the start of a new phase in the Government Hubs programme and demonstrates real progress in delivering the commitments set out in the Government Estate Strategy.

"The programme creates strong regional centres where civil servants can build their careers in state-of-the-art shared workspaces, enabling efficient, collaborative and flexible working, driving engagement and improving staff productivity and wellbeing.

"This will reduce operating costs for the Government as we dispose of unnecessary office space and streamline our estate."

(CM/JG)