Council staff in Wakefield will soon be working out of a single four-storey office development designed with energy efficiency in mind, rather than the 22 different buildings that are currently their operating bases.
The eco-friendly building is being constructed at a cost of around £31.2 million and forms part of a wider redevelopment project called Merchant Gate, which recently completed phase one and has begun phase two.
Phase one of the project has made some 47,000 square feet of Grade A office space and 35,000 square feet of retail space available in Wakefield, while local council staff are scheduled to be fully relocated to Merchant Gate within two years.
“We started this project three years ago, and now we are seeing it take shape,” explained Peter Box, leader of the Wakefield Council.
“We need to invest to save money, and this new building means we can move out of old, expensive offices and into an energy-efficient, modern base which will give a better service to citizens.”
The English Cities Fund (ECF) is behind the Merchant Gate scheme, and the developers on the project, Muse, have suggested that their office buildings will generate at least 10 per cent of their energy from on-site renewable sources.
Editor’s notes: As of June 2026, Wakefield Council remained in occupation at Wakefield One on Burton Street within the Merchant Gate development, adjacent to Wakefield train station.
At the time, there was 6,683 square feet of office space available to rent at 2 Burgage Square within the Merchant Gate scheme at a quoting rent of £13.50 per square foot per annum.