£500 million for Oxford - Cambridge corridor

The UK Government has announced a £500 million investment package to accelerate housing, transport and business development along the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, as part of efforts to position the region as a global innovation hub.

The funding includes £400 million for Cambridge, aimed at unlocking affordable housing, infrastructure and business space. In Oxford, the Cowley Branch railway line—closed for 60 years—will be reopened with new stations at Cowley and Littlemore, supporting the creation of up to 10,000 new jobs and homes.

The package builds on the government’s backing for East West Rail, which is intended to improve regional transport links between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “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. 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. By choosing investment and renewal over chaos and decline, we’re boosting growth and building an economy that works for working people.”

The announcement coincides with news that the Ellison Institute of Technology will invest £10 billion in a major expansion of its Oxford base over the next decade, expected to create 7,000 jobs.

Science Minister and Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Champion, Lord Vallance, said: “These investments are a milestone, not just for the Oxford to Cambridge Corridor, but for the entire country. We are going to deliver the housing, amenities and infrastructure that businesses need to grow and that people need to flourish.

“This region has all the ingredients to be the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley or the Boston Cluster: somewhere that turns world-class innovation into economic growth the whole nation benefits from. Today is proof we’ll back the OxCam region to fulfil its enormous potential.”

The government says the corridor has delivered 43,000 jobs and attracted £27.5 billion of investment over the past decade. Ministers say the new public funding, combined with private sector support, will help sustain long-term growth and tackle critical housing and infrastructure shortages in the region.