Mancpedia

Heron House

Heron House, dubbed No10 North, is an office space in the Civic Quarter of Manchester city centre, sitting opposite Manchester Town Hall. It is used by the UK Government for a number of executive functions, including being a secondary office for the Prime Minister, and is also used by the intelligence agency GCHQ. The building is owned by Manchester City Council.[1]

History

Construction and early years

The Heron Corporation began developing Heron House in the late 1970s. The design had to be changed at least twice due to complaints that the building's style did not fit in with the character of Albert Square.[2]

While construction was still underway in 1978, Manchester City Council agreed to lease Heron House as a new base for its Social Services department. The lease was controversial, as the cost per square foot (£4.95) was widely considered excessive. Following a row over the costs, Manchester City Council decided they would instead commercially lease out Heron House instead of occupying it, once it was completed.[2][3]

Heron House finished construction in 1981 and was officially opened in December of that year. The first major tenants were announced in November 1982, when National Westminster Bank agreed to lease most of an entire floor from the council.[3]

GCHQ and DiSH

GCHQ established their north-west base in Heron House at the end of 2019.[4]

In early 2021 the Greater Manchester Digital Security Hub (DiSH) was launched, and is based at Heron House.[5]

No10 North

On 24th July 2026, newly elected prime minister Andy Burnham travelled up to Manchester at the end of his first week in office to officially open "No10 North" at Heron House, to act as a base for certain functions of the UK Government.[6]

As part of the official opening of "No10 North", a replica of the iconic black door at 10 Downing Street was brought inside Heron House to decorate the foyer area. Andy Burnham symbolically posed in front of the replica door, even joking about the need for Manchester to have its own equivalent of Downing Street's Larry the Cat.[7]

Sources

  1. Burnham’s No 10 North: could two-centre government be made to work?, The Guardian, 2nd July 2026, accessed 21st July 2026. ↩
  2. Manchester Evening News, 14th October 1980, Page 15. ↩ ↩
  3. Manchester Evening News, 8th November 1982, Page 5. ↩ ↩
  4. Government spy agency launches new tech scheme from Manchester base, Prolific North, 24th June 2020, accessed 24th July 2026. ↩
  5. Greater Manchester Digital Security Hub (DiSH), Greater Manchester Combined Authority, accessed 21st July 2026. ↩
  6. UK politics: Burnham defends cost of opening No 10 North against ‘London-based’ critics – as it happened, The Guardian, 24th July 2026, accessed 25th July 2026. ↩
  7. What is No 10 North and what do we know about it so far?, ITV News, 24th July 2026, accessed 25th July 2026. ↩