Property Services Agency - Organisation and Location

Organisation and Location

The headquarters of the PSA were in Croydon, Greater London, occupying space in several 1960s office blocks including the Whitgift Centre, Lunar House and Apollo House. The PSA also had offices in central London, and a regional network of offices throughout the UK.

The headquarters organisation consisted of various offices and Directorates, including the Directorate of Architectural Services (DAS), the Directorate of Post Office Services (DPOS), the Directorate of Civil Engineering Services (DCES), and the Directorate of Building and Quantity Surveying Services (DBQSS). The PSA also provided building and engineering services to the armed forces, such as the services provided by the Directorate of Works (Air) (DW(AIR)) for the RAF. The purpose of the Directorates was to set policy and draft the technical standards and specifications to be used in building works. The headquarters organisation also had direct control of flagship construction projects such as the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London.

Also located in Croydon was the PSA's central facility for training architectural and engineering draughtsmen, the Drawing Office Training Centre (DOTC), in 'C' Block in the Whitgift Centre in the 1970s, moving to Quest House in 1977.

There was a UK regional network for the rest of the PSA's building and estates management work. There were offices for Scotland and Wales, and offices in the English regions (in London, Leeds, Cambridge, Hastings, Reading, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester; the Manchester office included Northern Ireland in its territory). Under the regional offices were Area Works Offices, and then at a further sub-level operated the District Works Offices (DWOs). The main function of the DWOs was to carry out maintenance and small building projects. The DWOs were mostly situated in urban centres where there were a number of government buildings to maintain, or on military installations.