NEW remote working hubs are to be set up around the north to offer civil service staff the chance to work closer to home.
Up to ten regional hubs are being considered under the plan, which will seek to utilise existing public buildings rather than embark on a new build programme.
The hubs are expected to operate on a ‘hot desk’ basis, offering a modern office environment to civil servants, who will in turn be encouraged to spend in local shops and businesses.
It’s understood that the proposal had been in the works prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, but the pandemic has resulted in Finance Minister Conor Murphy accelerating the ‘Connect2’ project.
The first two hubs could be opened in Ballykelly and Downpatrick in the spring, but will only become operational when the health advice and regulations permit.
Additional bases in Omagh, Craigavon, Ballymena and the Antrim or Newtownabbey area are being planned for next year.
It’s believed that the longer term roll-out is looking at locations in Enniskillen, Derry, Newry and the Bangor or Newtownards area.
It’s estimated that around one-in-three civil servants live outside greater Belfast, with officials targeting areas where the greater concentration of public workers reside.
The concentration of employees living in the Belfast region will mean the civil service will continue to have a significant presence within Belfast city centre for the foreseeable future.
But the successful adoption of the regional hubs could eventually result in some public buildings being sold off.
With many major private sector firms indicating they will adopt flexible working arrangements for office workers in the post-Covid era, pressure is expected to be on the civil service to mirror those flexibilities.
It’s understood the first two hubs will be based within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs' (DAERA) site at Ballykelly and Rathkeltair House in Downpatrick.
The decision to relocate DAERA’s headquarters from east Belfast to Ballykelly was made in 2012 by Mr Murphy’s Sinn Féin executive college, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
The £21 million facility on the site of the former Shackleton British army barracks opened in March 2018 with a capacity of 600 staff.
But it’s understood that even pre-pandemic, the building was operating well below capacity level.
Rathkeltair House in Downpatrick is shared by a number of Stormont departments, including DAERA, the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities.
Conor Murphy is expected to officially announce Connect2 plan today with a focus on regional economic recovery.