A Lanarkshire tax office which opened in 1978 will close its doors for good today.
Despite campaigners' pleas for a U-turn, HMRC's Cumbernauld base is being mothballed - with at least £1m and about 1300 jobs lost to the local economy.
That's according to figures cited by SNP Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East MP, Stuart McDonald.
The tax office has been the area's biggest employer for at least a decade but operations will be moved to a streamlined superhub in Glasgow.
Closure plans were announced in 2015 as part of UK Government plans to relocate staff to 13 city-centre regional hubs.
But HMRC announced in January that it had reversed its decision to relocate operations from the East Kilbride tax office to Glasgow - securing 2000 jobs in the town.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has slammed the Cumbernauld closure - saying it will cause "massive damage" to the town.
PCS HMRC group secretary, Joy Dunn, told Lanarkshire Live : "For well over six years, PCS has been campaigning to try to persuade HMRC to reconsider its plans to close local offices and to move all their staff into major city centre 'regional centres'.
"Although we’ve had some success in retaining a long-term presence in places such as East Kilbride and in extending the lifespan of some other locations, for the most part the department has pressed ahead and closed nearly all of its local offices.
"That takes vital, high quality jobs away from towns like Cumbernauld and causes massive damage to the local economies; not to mention nationwide, making thousands of staff redundant in the process.
"After years spent systematically closing their local offices, the government has suddenly discovered 'levelling-up'.
"But their words will have a hollow ring in places like Cumbernauld, where the closures mean high quality jobs lost in the area, a major impact on local businesses, and more time spent commuting for the workers themselves.”
"PCS is continuing to campaign to defend members’ jobs and the local communities; and as part of the most recent “pay and contract reform” deal, has secured the possibility of up to full home-based working, as a future redundancy avoidance measure.”
MP Stuart McDonald previously spoke of the importance of the tax office to the town at a debate in the House of Commons.
He said: "During the 1960s and 1970s, there was cross-party consensus not only on dispersing existing civil service jobs from London to other parts of the UK, but on the creation of new positions.
"It was against that background that Cumbernauld was selected for a new accounts office in 1976, albeit that the opening was later postponed until 1978.
"The office was expected to have a hugely positive impact on employment in the town, with most of the jobs being new and recruited locally, and that is exactly what happened.
"Everyone in Cumbernauld knows somebody employed in the tax office."
He added: "Local PCS union members are to be commended on their campaign to keep the office in Cumbernauld, and I’m proud to have supported and worked closely with them.
"So I bitterly regret that the overwhelming case for retaining Cumbernauld tax office has been ignored."
Campaigners fear that the town centre too will take a direct hit after workers travel into the city centre instead.
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth MSP Jamie Hepburn said: “The loss of Cumbernauld’s tax office is beyond disappointing.
“Despite the fight to save it and the many good reasons to do so, the UK Government has ignored the impact closure will have on the area.
"They’ve turned their backs on Cumbernauld. This is a sad moment for the town and a decision that is deeply regretful.
"Many people made their careers at the tax office, enabling them to secure good employment locally.”
The tax office campus is set to be demolished after permission in principle was granted for the site’s redevelopment as a residential area.
Each of the existing buildings at the HMRC site on St Mungo’s Road in the town centre will now be knocked down following the successful application from Cannon Capital Developments for around 160 homes.
A HMRC spokesman said: “Our skilled and experienced staff have served HMRC with distinction.
"We are looking forward to welcoming our colleagues into our new Glasgow hub – a modern, inclusive building that facilitates collaboration, flexible working and will enable them to build varied careers and to continue to deliver great services to our customers.”
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