Oxbridge growth corridor 'to add £78bn to economy'

BBC News

29-01-2025

Proposals to link up Oxford and Cambridge will add up to £78bn to the UK economy by 2035, the chancellor has claimed.Connecting the university cities could create "Europe's Silicon Valley", Rachel Reeves said in her speech in Oxfordshire.The government wants thousands of homes and a new rail link to be developed in the area between the cities.The chancellor also supported the construction of Abingdon Reservoir, though the 4.5 sq-mile (7sq km) project continues to be met with strong local opposition.
Speaking at Siemens Healthineers in Eynsham said the two university cities "offer huge economic potential for our nation's growth prospects"."Just 66 miles apart, these cities are home to two of the best universities in the world, two of the most intensive innovation clusters in the world, and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology firms in life sciences, manufacturing, and AI."It has the potential to be Europe's Silicon Valley. The home of British innovation."To grow, these world-class companies need world-class talent who should be able to get to work quickly and find somewhere to live in the local area. "But to get from Oxford to Cambridge by train takes two-and-a-half hours."Oxford and Cambridge are two of the least affordable cities in the UK. In other words, the demand is there but there are far too many supply side constraints on economic growth in the region."
The announcements include:Nine new reservoirs, such as Fens Reservoir serving Cambridge and the Abingdon ReservoirFunding for East-West Rail, with new services between Oxford and Milton KeynesThe development of new and expanded communities in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth CorridorA new Growth Commission for OxfordAppointment of Sir Patrick Vallance as Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor champion to ensure the Government's ambitions are delivered
Reacting to the speech, Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, said the newly-announced Growth Commission would bring together central government, local authorities, businesses and universities to "tackle the barriers to economic growth". She added it would help the city "realise its full potential" and create secure "well-paid jobs for our children and grandchildren".Professor Alistair Fitt, chair of Arc Universities Group and vice chancellor at Oxford Brookes University, said the region "hosts a great diversity and scale of universities". "Together we offer a wide range of key contributions: globally renowned research brilliance, the powerhouse of skills provision provided by cutting edge teaching, world-class knowledge transfer and commercialisation," he said.
But Derek Stork, the chair of the Group against Reservoir Development, said the reservoir plans included in the announcement would be a "diversion of resources"."What we need is infrastructure fixing our leakages, and we need infrastructure to fix the sewage pollution that companies like Thames Water are dumping in our rivers."Sally Povolotsky, a district councillor who represents Steventon and the Hanneys, said the government was "ignoring the thousands of voices" who had taken part in a consultation."This is just absolute insanity that the government can come along and kibosh everyone's rights to be able to speak and have their voice heard."Thames Water welcomed the government's plans which it said would secure the water supply for 15m people."It will also enable us to meet the challenges ahead, such as a growing population and the effects of climate change. "We've also committed to halving leakage by 2050 and reducing demand for water." it added.Rachel Reeves announced the plans alongside a series of other major infrastructure projects, including plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Bethan Nimmo - BBC Oxford political reporter
This announcement means the pressure is on to build more homes - and build them faster - as well as lab spaces and offices for the kind of companies that will drive this growth. If it goes well, it could mean a real boost for jobs and prosperity. When you get more high-tech innovation companies moving into an area or starting up, it's not just those high end jobs it creates, it's all the work that supports it. There's the builders to build the spaces, the cleaners to clean them, and catering companies to make the sandwiches. It could have a real ripple effect on job opportunities. At the same time, many will look at all the green fields in Oxfordshire and wonder how many of those will make it to the other side of this kind of growth boom.
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