The Oxford – Milton Keynes – Cambridge corridor is set to unlock a huge opportunity for economic growth. Through long-awaited connectivity links it will not only improve connectivity, productivity and communication within the cities and wider reaching regions, but it will provide the infrastructure to drive economic development, regeneration and growth.

The work undertaken by the National Infrastructure Commission and England’s Economic Heartland have been central to realising the opportunities and championing the investment which will now be focused on the area. The next step is to ensure, as an industry, we maximise the potential.

The area could support a further 700,000 jobs by 2050, whilst increasing GVA by £163bn – but these figures can only become a reality through vital collaboration across the whole built environment industry. Together we can boost jobs, homes, skills, regeneration and growth – and the Oxford Cambridge Corridor Economic Growth Conference will bring together the public and private-sector leaders who can drive the alignment needed to tackle challenges and drive growth.

The Industrial Strategy set out by the Government will be central to ensuring that growth is realised, but one of the challenges will be ensuring one single vision is actioned across the OxMkCam corridor where so many different authorities operate. Local Enterprise Partnerships have already taken on a significant role in boosting productivity and earning power across the country by focusing on five foundations of productivity: Ideas, People, Infrastructure, Business Environment and Places.

One of the key elements of the Industrial Strategy is the focus within sectors such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence. The corridor already has many world leading businesses and business clusters operating at the centre – including Silverstone, Robert Bosch, Johnson & Johnson and GE Healthcare – who are already operating at the heart of the sectors which could be critical in delivering the success of the strategy.

One strong example of the strength already within the area is Silverstone Park, who’ll be represented on the Industrial Strategy Panel by their Commercial Director Roz Bird. She says: ‘’The government’s CMKO initiative offers two opportunities, as I see it. Firstly, for UK plc, it brings together a highly capable geography of high-tech talent which can be promoted on a world stage because the CMKO creates a critical mass of activity, comparable to San Jose or Wandong. And, with proximity to London in the south and the Midlands Engine in the north, it’s already world class. Secondly, companies within the STC and the wider Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire high-tech clusters offer high-tech expertise and capabilities that can be applied to the issues that the public sector is grappling with in the corridor, in terms of housing and mobility.

“Companies in our cluster are already developing new apps supported by IoT and big data which could help manage traffic or heating or whole energy systems and they are developing sensor technology and light-weighting technology that can be used in autonomous vehicles, for example. The question is: ‘what should the future look like?’ and the answer lies with the companies that reside in the CMKO.”

Joining Roz on the panel will be Helen Wylde, Chief Engagement Officer of Transport Systems Catapult, who are the Industrial Session Partner. Based within the epicentre of the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge Corridor they’ve experience the benefits first hand of accessing the high-tech businesses and world leading academic institutions based there. Ahead of the conference she said: ‘’The transport links currently being developed have the potential to turn the corridor into a silicon-valley of the UK, creating huge economic benefits and bringing more high-quality jobs to the area. The Transport Systems Catapult team is looking forward to supporting both the work to deliver the corridor and economic growth conference.”

Completing the panel of speakers includes:

·         Jonathan Nunn; Leader of Northampton Borough Council

·         Gordon Mitchell; Chief Executive of Oxford City Council

·         Sue Halliwell; Director for Planning and Place at Oxfordshire County Council

·         James Jamieson; Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council

Join us for the Oxford Cambridge Corridor Economic Growth Conference and we at the forefront of the ARC Corridor’s future > www.www.built-environment-networking.com/OCCEGC18