Tees Valley officials were celebrating after Darlington and Hartlepool beat off competition from Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford to be the home of the Treasury’s second headquarters.

The Chancellor, who represents the neighbouring Richmond constituency and made the announcement during his budget speech, will spend part of his time at the new facility along with hundreds of civil servants.

Relocating a significant part of the Treasury out of London is the centrepiece of Downing Street’s plan to move more than 22,000 senior government officials out of the capital by 2030 as part of its levelling up agenda.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “With the incredible announcement that Treasury North is coming to Darlington, hundreds of top Treasury jobs are heading to our region. For too long areas like Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool have been left behind and local people could be forgiven for thinking that we were often an afterthought.

“Well, that ends today. This move will put local priorities and local people from across our area at the heart of Government, as well as creating good quality, well-paid jobs for local people.

“Over the last 12 months I’ve lobbied, badgered and harassed anyone who would listen. From Rishi Sunak and the Prime Minister to senior civil servants and MPs, we deserve a seat at the top table of Government and I’m proud to say that we were able to come up with an offer they couldn’t refuse. Our voice was heard.”

The Chancellor’s decision will see 750 senior civil servants from the Treasury, along with other economic based departments, move to Darlington town centre, with the first members of his department staff arriving before the end of the year.

Peter Gibson, MP for Darlington, said: “Rishi has delivered for Darlington, bringing the heart of Government to our town shows faith, and trust in what we have to offer and lays out clearly just what levelling up can mean. This really is the icing on the cake.”

Leader of Darlington Council Heather Scott added: “I cannot over emphasise just how fantastic this news is for Darlington and the Tees Valley region as a whole.  Darlington is ideally placed with good rail, road and air connectivity for any businesses coming to the Tees Valley region and with the Treasury literally on our doorstep this can only be an added incentive.