More than £500m is being added to build new homes and create better transport links in the region
Up to 10,000 additional new homes will be created in the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor, via the reopening of the Cowley rail line.
The Growth Corridor is heralded to be a source of immense growth for the UK, and will be a “European Silicon Valley.”
Creating homes and jobs through improved transport
Initially, £400m of government funding will be put towards creating affordable homes, infrastructure, and business expansion. This will include the reopening of the Cowley Branch railway, and new stations being built in Cowley and Littlemore, allowing easier travel in the region.
This new line will come under East West Rail scheme, which will create and strengthen links between Oxford, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Bedford, and surrounding areas.
The chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “Oxford and Cambridge 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. Yet thanks to years of underinvestment, they still lack the public transport, affordable housing, and infrastructure they need. That changes under this government.
“We have massive ambitions for the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, that’s why we’re reopening the Cowley Branch railway 60 years after it closed, why we’re building more affordable housing and investing in business, and how we’ve been able to unlock £10bn in private investment. By choosing investment and renewal over chaos and decline, we’re boosting growth and building an economy that works for working people.”
Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor will “kickstart economic growth”
The plans for the corridor, announced in January, will add £78bn to the economy with projects to connect the two cities further, benefitting them and every settlement between.
Further investment will bring support to industry, science, and technology, including an upgrade for the electric vehicle (EV) charging network, investment into raw materials and metals for solar panels, wind turbines, and EVs, and investment into offshore wind power.
At the time, Reeves said: “Oxford and Cambridge offer huge potential for our nation’s growth prospects. Only 66 miles apart, these cities are home to two of the best universities in the world, and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology firms. This area has the potential to be Europe’s Silicon Valley.
“To make that a reality, we need a systematic approach to attract businesses to come here and grow here. At the moment, it takes two-and-a-half hours to travel between Oxford and Cambridge by train. There is no way to commute directly by rail from places like Bedford and Milton Keynes to Cambridge, and there is a lack of affordable housing right across the region. In other words, the demand is there, but there are far too many supply-side constraints on economic growth here.
“The Ox-Cam Arc was originally launched in 2003, over twenty years ago, but the project was then dropped by the previous government in 2021. We are not prepared to miss out on the opportunities any longer.”
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