ARC WOULD CREATE UK’S ‘SILICONE VALLEY’ ON OUR DOORSTEP

With two of the world’s renowned universities spinning out science and technology companies, it’s no wonder that government and business leaders see opportunities to connect Oxford and Cambridge, via the 20th century new town of Milton Keynes.

The area is already rich with some of the UK’s most innovative businesses, in fields such as life sciences, energy, aviation, space, advanced manufacturing, transport and the digital sector.

“The area is already rich with some in the UK’s most innovative businesses, in fields such as life sciences, energy, aviation, space, advanced manufacturing, transport and the digital sector”

The Oxford-Cambridge Arc – somewhat inevitably dubbed “the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley”, or an “innovation engine” to complement the industrial engines of

The self-driving vehicle RACE is on

Oxfordshire is at the forefront of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) development; this is a vanguard use of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), in which RACE (Remote Access in Challenging Environments) at Culham Science Centre – one of the four national CAV testbeds – is a key UK centre of excellence.

RAS demonstrates how robots can move people and goods more efficiently with far-reaching implications across many sectors. Oxford Robotics Institute kick-started the UK’s CAV programme in 2010; its spin-out Oxbotica is currently leading a UK consortium testing a fleet of driverless vehicles completing a successful journey from Oxford to London.

the Midlands and the north – has been a talking point for nearly 20 years.

Way back in 2003 the erstwhile East of England Development Agency, East Midlands Development Agency, and South East England Development Agency, published their vision for an “arc of innovation and entrepreneurial activity”.

More recently, the government invited the three Local Enterprise Partnerships of Bucks LEP, OxLEP, and SEMLEP, which cover the corridor, together with the Mayoral Combined Authority for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, to work together in developing a shared economic vision across this Arc.

According to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), the executive agency responsible for providing expert advice to the government on infrastructure challenges facing the UK, the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the corridor in 2016 was £107 billion. By doubling housebuilding rates in the area this could increase to £250 billion.

In its response to the NIC report, the government designated the Arc as a key economic priority, outlining a breadth of actions to seize the opportunity for growth identified in the report. The government also affirmed its ambition to deliver more homes in the Arc, supported by measures such as the £215 million Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and the recent confirmation of £445 million Housing Infrastructure Funding for the Arc.

But new infrastructure is vital. Collaboration requires connectivity, and currently a rail trip between Oxford and Cambridge means a diversion via London, while driving the 90 miles between the cities takes more than two hours.

The solutions to the connectivity issue are the proposed East West Rail and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

East West Rail would connect Oxford to Cambridge, and onwards into East Anglia, following the abandoned Varsity Line which was closed in the 1960s. The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway is a proposed dual carriageway between the A34 near Oxford and the A14 near Cambridge, via Milton Keynes. Construction costs are likely to exceed £3 billion.

As Business & Innovation Magazine went to press, the government confirmed its preferred route for the eastern section of the line – a boon for the economies of St Neots and Cambourne.

And while a new dual carriageway cutting through shire county greenbelts and rural landscapes remains a contentious issue, government and business leaders say the Arc is vital for the future prosperity not only of Oxford, Cambridge, and Milton Keynes but the UK as a whole.