The government is working on plans to move the headquarters of its soon-to-be-launched housing super agency to Manchester, according to a senior Whitehall source.

The move is aimed at placating Manchester after plans to locate a supercasino there were overruled by prime minister Gordon Brown.

The source said: “The Treasury is desperate to placate Manchester over that and has said we want to move the headquarters of the new agency up there.”

The source added that regeneration agency English Partnerships, one of the bodies to be replaced by the Homes and Communties agency, had been asked to prepare a business case for relocating the head office.

The Treasury is desperate to placate Manchester over the supercasino

Whitehall source

Officially no decision has been taken on whether to press ahead with the supercasino, which regeneration planners estimating would add £1bn to the city’s economy. However the source said: “There is no way England is getting a super casino, absolutely no way.”

English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation have their head offices in London.

Postscript

The government is planning to reintroduce legislation to allow 16 casinos in Britain. The culture department is working on a revised parliamentary order that would allow the opening of eight large and eight small casinos.

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