Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, has said Government ‘has to make sure’ it sticks to its latest timetables on east-west rail whilst speaking at the Oxford Cambridge Corridor Economic Growth Conference.

The region’s local authorities are ‘hopeful’ that the Government would deliver its promise to decide this summer on the corridor for the proposed expressway between Oxford and Cambridge which could unlock huge economic growth opportunities within the region.

Tett said: ‘’We need to see really major long-term investment that enables local authorities to plan with confidence into the future and leverage private capital. This will drive decisions about where economic development and housing will go.’’

Tett, who is also Chairman of the England’s Economic Heartland partnership of the area’s councils, raised concerns over lack of upfront investment in electricity infrastructure, which he said currently acted as a ‘major break on housebuilding’ saying: ‘’The mechanisms at the moment are predicated against that upfront investment.’’