UK to spend £500 million to create Europe’s ‘Silicon Valley’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the UK will invest £500 million in affordable homes, infrastructure, and business space in the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor, which she said has the potential to become ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’.

The region encompasses a swathe of land north-west of London, stretching from Oxford to Cambridge and including Milton Keynes.

Up to £400 million of the new £500-million package announced by the Chancellor will be spent on development in Cambridge, including on affordable homes, infrastructure, and expanding businesses in the area.

The Cowley Branch railway line in Oxford will also be reopened with new stations at Littlemore and Cowley, helping to connect residents and businesses in the corridor.

This is part of the government’s broader commitment to deliver East West Rail, which will provide better transport links between Oxford and Cambridge.

£15 million will also be invested in the University of Cambridge Innovation Hub to create lab space for science start-ups to grow and compete globally.

In addition to this funding package announced by the government, the Ellison Institute of Technology has also announced a £10-billion expansion of its Oxford base over the next decade, which will help to create 7,000 jobs and put Oxford at the forefront of global research.

Through public spending and private partnerships, the government hopes to help make the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor Europe’s Silicon Valley, with both Oxford and Cambridge ranked among the top innovation engines in Europe.

“Oxford and Cambridge are home to the 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,” Reeves said.

“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 £10 billion in private investment,” she said.

Below is a map of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor as envisioned by the government’s 10-year infrastructure plan.

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