Breaking Property News 3/6/26
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A new strategic vision for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor will set out a shared ambition supported by industry, academia, national government and local government to establish the region as one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems. It will be a long-term framework to build a globally connected innovation supercluster capable of accelerating economic growth, strengthening UK productivity and improving quality of life for communities across the region and nationwide.
It has received input and support from local leaders through England’s Economic Heartland, alongside Lord Vallance’s Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor Unit within HM Treasury.
The vision also draws inspiration from the work of The Wildlife Trusts and wider environmental partners, recognising that long-term prosperity and economic growth must go hand-in-hand with nature recovery, climate resilience and the creation of healthier places for communities to live and work.
At the centre of the framework is a shared ambition for the Corridor to become a top-10 global innovation cluster, supported by a mission to create a fully integrated innovation ecosystem that rapidly converts research into scalable technologies, captures greater long-term value for the UK and improves people’s lives across the region and beyond.
The strategy is underpinned by five core priorities:
• Integrating the Corridor into a single innovation ecosystem
• Positioning the Corridor as a globally connected hub of UK innovation
• Accelerating innovation adoption and diffusion across the UK
• Building a complete end-to-end innovation and value capture system
• Enhancing quality of life through inclusive growth, nature and sustainable development
The framework also establishes long-term objectives for the region, building greater depth to the target of unlocking £78bn of cumulative GVA by 2035 that was announced by the Chancellor in January last year. To reach that economic target the vision sets an objective of delivering 160,000 additional jobs and attracting £105bn of additional venture capital investment.
The strategic framework builds upon a substantial body of work undertaken across the Corridor over many years. It primarily takes inspiration from a Vision Report created by Oxford Brookes and Cambridge Econometrics, and builds on economic analysis of the region’s potential by Public First, alongside the recently updated 100 Miles Wilder paper delivered by the Wildlife Trusts. Drawing from these reports and through a series of workshops and discussions across the region and with central government, this Vision and strategic framework for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor is intended to support deeper collaboration between government, industry, academia, local authorities, investors and communities.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said:
“I welcome the Supercluster’s clear vision for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor as it shows the joint determination of Government and industry to build a globally competitive innovation supercluster — turning world-class research into jobs and long-term growth.
“We have the right economic plan – bringing together business, universities, investors and government is a major step forward in unlocking one of the UK’s greatest economic opportunities.”
Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, said:
“We have already seen the impact of the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor on people’s lives with breakthroughs in healthcare, clean energy, and as an engine for economic growth.
“The collaboration behind this framework – bringing together local leadership, universities, industry, and environmental organisations – reflects exactly the kind of joined-up approach required to reap further rewards from its huge potential, including high-skilled, innovative jobs and research that changes lives.”
Councillor Adam Zerny, Chair of England’s Economic Heartland, representing 13 local and combined authorities across the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, said:
“This vision represents an important moment for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor. Local leaders across the region recognise both the scale of opportunity and the importance of working together around shared priorities including infrastructure, connectivity, skills, sustainability and economic growth.
“By strengthening collaboration, while respecting the distinct identities of communities across the Corridor, we can help create a more connected, productive and internationally competitive region that delivers real benefits for residents and businesses alike.”
Andy Williams, Chair of the Oxford–Cambridge Supercluster Board, said:
“The Oxford to Cambridge region already contains many of the ingredients found within the world’s leading innovation ecosystems, globally recognised universities, pioneering science and technology businesses, exceptional talent and strong investor interest.
“This framework provides a shared long-term direction for how those strengths can be connected more effectively into a truly integrated supercluster capable of competing on a global stage. Importantly, it also recognises that growth must be sustainable, inclusive and focused on improving outcomes for people and places across the region.”
Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said:
“Oxford and Cambridge have a rich history of producing discoveries that change lives, create industries and drive economic growth. This vision sets out our collective determination to better capture that economic value by creating the environment and conditions for the many companies we launch to stay and grow successfully within the UK rather than move abroad.
A connected Corridor, populated by world-class universities and built around East West Rail, is how we achieve that goal: a coherent pipeline from laboratory to spinout to scaling business that stays in the UK. We are ready to build on the work already underway in Oxford — through Equinox (Equitable Innovation Oxford), our developments at Oxford North, Begbroke and the Oxford Science Park, and our growing innovation partnerships with the Ellison Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Liverpool, Birmingham and other research-intensive UK cities. By working in close collaboration with our communities, we will co-create a world-leading innovation ecosystem that creates jobs, health and wealth for the UK.”
Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said:
“Research and innovation are fundamental to the UK’s long term economic growth, helping the country excel in frontier industries and compete globally. The Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor brings together extraordinary strengths in science, technology, talent and enterprise, and for many years we have recognised its enormous potential.
What feels different now is that we are beginning to build the partnerships, institutions and infrastructure needed to realise that potential at scale. By aligning behind this shared vision and strategic framework, we can better connect the region and make it easier for people, ideas, skills, and investment to move across it.”
Nick Pettit, Senior Partner at Bidwells and Chair of the Innovation Places Expert Panel that delivered the Vision report, said:
“The Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor represents one of the UK’s greatest long-term opportunities for innovation-led growth, but also for improving quality of life and opportunity for communities across the region.
“What is particularly important about this vision is the level of alignment behind it, bringing together local leaders, government, academia, industry and environmental partners around a shared ambition for the future of the Corridor.
“The region already has globally significant strengths in science, technology and innovation. The challenge now is to better connect those strengths through infrastructure, housing, skills, investment and sustainable development to create a truly integrated and globally competitive innovation ecosystem.”
Professor Roderick Watkins, Chair of the Arc Universities Group and Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, said:
“Universities sit at the heart of the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor’s innovation economy, not only through research and commercialisation, but through skills, collaboration and civic leadership.
“This vision reflects the importance of deeper partnership between academia, government and industry to help accelerate innovation, support business growth and ensure the benefits of research translate into wider economic and societal impact across the UK.”
Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, and Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) said:
“The future success of the Growth Corridor must be measured not only by economic growth, but by the health, resilience and quality of the environment that supports communities across the region.
“It is encouraging to see nature recovery, climate resilience and access to green space embedded within the long-term vision for the Corridor. Done well, this can become an international example of how economic growth and environmental leadership can work together to create healthier, more sustainable places, demonstrating how we can and must restore our natural infrastructure at the same time as constructing new built infrastructure.”
Andrew Stanton, CEO Proptech-PR, and Founder of Proptech-X said:
“It is great that there is a vision to knit together a number of laudable initiatives, technological innovation, infrastructure, housing, academia, research and development, together with pushing the ESG boundaries, all of which are elements of the work I champion, unfortunately though this burnished vision is often dulled by the mundane reality that delivery of objectives often fails to become a reality.
An example of this failure being the brand-new station at Winslow part of the new rail network, this station stands empty for more than a year, freight trains fly through it daily but not one single passenger can use it due to internal bickering by the Rail Union over staffing levels required on passenger trains. Maybe if the present government could get this station open it would be a start – words are great – actions are better.
Weekly I travel from Bedford to Winslow with my travelling companion Zara (my trusted doggie), travelling through twelve passenger friendly and open stations, to then arrive at Bletchley station where I have to continue my journey to Winslow via car as the Winslow train station is not in use, standing there barricaded in wasting millions in lost revenue.”
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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