Tŷ William Morgan - William Morgan House is a

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

building and hub in the centre of the city of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It primarily serves as a base for

HM Revenue and Customs HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...

(HMRC), but also the UK's

Department for International Trade The Department for International Trade (DIT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government responsible for striking and extending trade agreements between the U ...

and Cabinet Office. It was completed in 2020.

Background

The building, at 6 Central Square, Cardiff, was part of the redevelopment of Central Square, which included a new

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

headquarters, a

Transport Interchange A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bu ...

and other office development. The building was designed by the architectural firm

Gensler Gensler is a global design and architecture firm founded in San Francisco, California, in 1965. In 2021, Gensler generated $1.235 billion in revenue, the most of any architecture firm in the U.S. As of 2021, Gensler operated offices in 49 citi ...

Work started on 6 Central Square in late 2017, with the building already pre-let to HMRC. The building was planned primarily as a new base for HMRC's staff who had previously been located in

Llanishen Llanishen (Welsh Llanisien ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417. Llanishen is the home of the former HMRC tax offices, the talles ...

, Cardiff. It was also claimed to be part of a government strategy to increase UK government jobs in cities outside of London. There would be 12 other HMRC regional centres across England and Scotland. 6 Central Square would also be home to other government agencies and be capable of hosting full UK government cabinet meetings. There are 13 UK Government departments based in Ty William Morgan. The majority of the 4,500 civil servants based there are HMRC staff.. The building was

topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

in September 2018 and the keys were officially handed over, for fitting out to be completed, in January 2020. The building was formally opened at a ceremony with Secretary of State for Wales

David TC Davies David Thomas Charles Davies (born 27 July 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Wales since 2022 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouth since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he chaired the Wels ...

on 5 December 2022.

Name

In October 2019 it was announced the name of the new building would be Tŷ William Morgan - William Morgan House, named after Bishop William Morgan (1545–1604), translator of the Bible into

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. Secretary of State for Wales,

Alun Cairns Alun Hugh Cairns (born 30 July 1970) is a Welsh Conservative Party politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Vale of Glamorgan since 2010. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2016 to 2019. He was previously a member of ...

described it as fitting to name the building "after a figure whose pioneering translation of the Bible was instrumental in the survival and growth of the Welsh language and in the development of our unique culture".

Description

The building backs onto Park Street and is so close to the structure of the

Principality Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

, the builders were able to write their names in the stadium's dust. Located at the north side of Central Square, Tŷ William Morgan faces and overlooks the new BBC Wales headquarters. It has 12 storeys.

Union flag controversy

Early in 2021 a large "UK Government" sign was applied to the façade of Tŷ William Morgan. It was later discovered this branding was only being applied to the regional centres in Cardiff and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

(Scotland). In June 2021

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

granted planning permission for an 8-storey UK

Union flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

to be applied to the windows of Tŷ William Morgan. The flag needed planning permission because it was classed as an 'advertisement'. Planning officers said it was "appropriately proportioned" for the building, while the UK government said it was in line "with similar UK Government sites across the United Kingdom and around the world". The proposals caused a backlash on social media. In early July 2021 a petition was launched against the plans. A 20,000 name petition was delivered to Cardiff Council's headquarters later that month on behalf of

YesCymru YesCymru is a non party-political campaign for an independent Wales. The organisation was formed in the Summer of 2014 and officially launched on 20 February 2016 in Cardiff. In 2022 it became a private company limited by guarantee without sha ...

, by

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran ...

member Cian Ciaran. The petition described the proposals as "muscular unionism". The plan for the flag was later cancelled on cost grounds.

References

External links