Cambridge Norwich Tech

Ahead of their involvement in the East of England Economic Growth and Development Conference we’ve been speaking exclusively with Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor. The corridor links two of the UK’s powerhouse cities and has created one of the most exciting growth stories in Europe, and Programme Director Linn Clabburn has been sharing some inside intel into their ambitious plans and key focuses for the coming years…

Q. What are the long-term growth opportunities presented by the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor?

First, I think it is important to consider how we chose to define ‘growth’ in a world of climate change emergencies and a global pandemic. Although GDP growth remains the way in which the government measures economic success, things like job security, health, housing, and the environment are factors by which the public gauges growth and success. Based on this, I believe that the Tech Corridor offers the most interesting growth opportunity in the UK at the moment. Our growth opportunity lies in the mix and diversity of businesses, sectors and communities that make up the Tech Corridor.

At one end of the Tech Corridor, we have Norwich which is home to both a fast-growing digital tech sector as well as internationally renowned research into food and agri-tech. At the other end of the Tech Corridor, Cambridge has a world-leading life science cluster and a strong and well-established deep-tech sector. We also have a strong renewable energy sector that stretches along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast and into the Tech Corridor. Underpinning these sectors is a diverse engineering and manufacturing expertise that can turn cutting edge research and ideas into products and services – something we see in practice throughout the Corridor. This diversity of sectors not only makes us well placed to address some of the major challenges that are facing humanity such climate change, food security, health, etc. it has also made us more resilient than other parts of the UK (according to the PwC Good Growth study 2020). This diversity, resilience and connectivity between business communities across the and our links to the rest of the UK and Europe makes the Tech Corridor a great place to run a business.

Alongside the research and business strengths, we are also home to a diverse range of communities including cities, market towns, villages, rural areas and natural areas which offer people the opportunity to live their best life – whatever that may look like.

Looking forward, the Tech Corridor is set to grow considerably with significant housing allocations all along the road and rail network and in the proximity to existing communities with good access to Norwich and Cambridge. Continued investment into our science, research and innovation infrastructure e.g. around the Wellcome Genome Campus, and the recent investment by Lotus at Hethel indicates that technology will continue to be a major driver for growth.

Q. How is the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor leading on regeneration?

The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor is a partnership initiative, led by the public sector but working closely with the private sector, e.g., through our private sector led delivery board. Our role within the regeneration of the Tech Corridor is mainly in relation to bringing partners together for collaboration, to share insights, thought leadership and evidence and to encourage a joined-up approach to growth and investment. We also work with the partners to promote investment opportunities and to identify new projects that can deliver impacts across the region.  

By looking at economic success as more than just GDP we think that it is our role to make sure that success means success for all. We believe that the Tech Corridor’s growth potential lies in valuing the diversity of the different growth locations within the Corridor, recognising the role that each location plays in the wider Tech Corridor economy and to invest in enhancing the existing strengths in that location. Most importantly is then how we connect the locations, businesses and people to generate inclusive and sustainable growth throughout the Tech Corridor. This is something that we try to encourage our stakeholders to take into consideration as they plan and develop regeneration projects.

Because of the type of organisation the Tech Corridor is, we also have the opportunity to take a long-term view of how the Corridor develops and ensure that we build for the future taking into account national and international drives such as the decarbonisation and net zero carbon agenda.

To that end, we have commissioned studies of the Tech Corridor that provide with us a roadmap for how we can drive the long-term vision of the Tech Corridor through individual projects and developments. These studies and insights give our public and private sector stakeholders a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the strengths and opportunities and emerging developments across the Corridor. The studies provide the evidence around each individual growth location and recommendations on investments that can enhance and connect the location to the wider Tech Corridor economy.

Q. How is the new collaboration facilitated by the Tech Corridor organisation strengthening the corridor?

The Tech Corridor initiative is perhaps a little bit different from some of the other growth corridors and regional growth bodies in the sense that, although we are funded by the public sector, we work very closely with the business community across the Tech Corridor. This includes businesses of all sizes and technology sectors. Under the Tech Corridor initiative, we deliver several different programmes in relation to skills, investment, collaboration, etc. which are open for any Tech Corridor business to join.

The reason for working with the private sector in this way is that we believe that it is people, businesses and communities that bring the Tech Corridor to life and make it more than a brand on a website.

We try to be an independent and neutral voice which speaks both for and to businesses. Businesses can bring challenges/opportunities to use to raise higher in food chain and in return we can bring challenges/opportunities to businesses to gain action/traction.

By using the Tech Corridor as our platform, we are able to bring businesses together and facilitate collaborations and create a sense of ‘place’ and a culture of collaboration and sharing within the Corridor. If businesses see the Tech Corridor as a community, they want to be part of, this is something we can utilise as we promote the Tech Corridor to investors or businesses looking to relocate. We all know that ‘people sell to people’ so the more people and businesses that want to be associated with the Tech Corridor brand the more likely we are to succeed with attracting investment and business to the region.

Since the Tech Corridor is anchored in the public sector, we are also well placed to influence investment decision, feed into the development of new local plans and function as a strategic body that develops and devolves joint projects and plans. Our close working relationship with the public sector means that we can play a role in creating a supportive businesses environment throughout the Tech Corridor by providing access to information, grant development, etc.

The collaborations facilitate by the Tech Corridor are also an important way to share wealth and knowledge across the region. By working collaboratively between sectors and locations, we can retain and share the wealth and ultimately build a stronger and more resilient economy.

Q. What are the most exciting upcoming projects within the Tech Corridor?

Despite 2020 being a difficult year, we have seen a lot of interesting projects come forward and take shape. Some key projects that I believe could be transformational for the Tech Corridor are the expansion of the Wellcome Genome Campus that was granted end of 2020; the Norwich Town Fund deal that includes 8 projects across Norwich which will have a huge positive impact on the city. In addition to these projects, we have very exciting plans emerging around the Food Enterprise Park outside Norwich and the investment going into Lotus’ site at Hethel. I would also like to flag the new EpiCentre at Haverhill. The centre opened late 2020 but I believe we will see significant activity in 2021 and hopefully some more development and growth around the centre.

On a slightly longer timescale, the Smart Emerging Technology Institute (SETI) and the Cambridge Metro are projects that could transform the Tech Corridor.

Q. Life Sciences and Medicine are core focuses of the corridor, how is the corridor helping the UK in dealing with the coronavirus crisis?

The life science sector in the Tech Corridor has played a huge role in battling the Covid-19 crisis. Of course, Astra Zeneca have developed one of the vaccines that will be used in the UK but in addition to this we have seen several Tech Corridor businesses contribute to the effort.  Companies such as Iceni Diagnostics based at Norwich Research Park has developed a rapid detection test which is currently being trialed and CN Bio is collaborating with the University of Melbourne to advance therapies for respiratory complications in recovered Covid-19 patients. 

Early in the pandemic it was great to see how businesses from all sectors came together and tried to respond to the urgent need to PPE and other types of equipment and we did see many new collaborations stem from this.

In addition to the Tech Corridor businesses that have been directly engaged with fighting the virus, we have also seen several businesses who have pivoted their businesses or applied their existing technologies in a new way. This includes everything from online pharmacies, wearable technology that enables social distancing, secure communications technology to help medical staff communicate with patients remotely, anti-viral surfaces for school desks, etc., etc. It has been very encouraging to see the innovative abilities of businesses in the Tech Corridor and their resilience throughout the pandemic.

Q. How is the Corridor helping in the fight against climate change?

Climate change and environmental sustainability is a key part of everything we do through the Tech Corridor. The spatial growth vision we have developed for the Tech Corridor has sustainability at its heart and is therefore focused on sustainable modes of transport, digital connectivity and communities that offer people the opportunity to work and live in the same place.

As we work with both our public and private sector partners, we ensure that climate change, sustainability and resilience are part of the agenda. Where possible we use our knowledge about technology and businesses in the Corridor that can provide solutions to some of the sustainability challenges facing new projects. For example, where a new project requires additional power, we can bring in experts from across the Tech Corridor to present the opportunities for using renewable energy and energy storage.

Q. What is the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor most anticipating about the East of England Economic Growth and Development Conference?

I am always interested in hearing about what is going on across the wider region and what the priorities of our partners and colleagues are. Events and round table conversations is a chance for people to elaborate and share their thoughts on the growth of the region and on specific projects that may not come through in public documents.

I am also keen to understand where there are potential crossovers and shared aspirations that would enable to collaborate with partners to bring projects and investment forward.

I hope the session will provide a good starting point for us to identify the big opportunities that we can jointly promote across the East of England.

For more information on the Cambridge, Norwich Tech Corridor click here: www.techcorridor.co.uk