A major new report from companies shows dramatic growth across the Oxford-Cambridge region, making it a target for potential property investment.
Milton Keynes and Stevenage now rival the two historic university cities across a range of metrics says the report, which comes from companies including AstraZeneca, Airbus, Bidwells, Silverstone and Darktrace.
| Metric | Central region* | Cambridge | Oxford |
| Total turnover | £56.8bn | £46.2bn | £32.2bn |
| Total employment | 223,661 | 185,083 | 160,798 |
| Number of companies | 7,622 | 5,708 | 5,677 |
Data covers the 2023-2024 financial year.
The report, backed by 46 organisations, urges Chancellor Rachel Reeves to move quicker in order to propel the growth by speeding up the delivery of infrastructure and homes.
The report sets out three practical steps the government should take now to bring forward the Oxford-Cambridge corridor’s £78 billion growth opportunity, an estimate from the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board and Public First of the additional gross value added the region could deliver if growth is accelerated:
● First, fast-track the approvals process for East West Rail as the critical enabler of the Growth Corridor, by committing to an accelerated examination and decision timetable once the Development Consent Order is submitted, adequately resourcing the Planning Inspectorate and beginning phased delivery within this parliament so benefits can be realised earlier across the corridor.
● Second, establish a dedicated Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor governance structure covering the whole region – not just Oxford and Cambridge – bringing together government, industry and universities with a single figurehead empowered to cut through red tape, align departments and maximise growth benefits across the central corridor including Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Stevenage and key campuses.
● Third, publish the supercluster-wide strategy and spatial plan – a single, public blueprint that sets out which sites are prioritised for new homes, labs and workspace, and what supporting infrastructure is needed.
Businesses say speed matters most in the approval phase.
Starting construction in this parliament provides the certainty investors need, so growth benefits can begin flowing long before the railway opens. Industry leaders point to the fast pace of recent major planning approvals, such as the proposed Universal theme park in Bedford, as evidence that the government can move fast when it comes to major planning decisions.
However, firms worry that the current DCO approval process will take as long as 18 months.
The call comes almost a year after science minister Lord Vallance set out ambitions for the corridor and pledged coordinated action across transport, housing and infrastructure. Business leaders welcome the government’s focus on the Oxford-Cambridge region but say the overarching, region-wide plan has yet to materialise.
The report, ‘The Economic Power of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor’, published by the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board and produced with the Centre for Business Research at Cambridge University also finds that 3,000 ‘knowledge-intensive’ firms employing 152,000 people and generating £45 billion in annual turnover are spread along the Oxford-Cambridge corridor.
Beyond just knowledge intensive firms, businesses in Oxford, Cambridge and the central region between them generate £135 billion in annual turnover and currently employ 570,000 people.
Over the last ten years, employment growth in the Oxford-Cambridge arc has been 50% faster than the rest of the UK.
The corridor has grown consistently ahead of the national economy across every measured period, with employment rising by 1.5% a year from 2014-2024 versus 1.0% across the UK as a whole.
Since 2015 alone, that momentum has translated into 125,000 additional jobs in the region.
