The government must go further for Cambridge Science Park
The government’s confirmation that it will press ahead with the Oxford-Cambridge corridor is welcome, but what is really needed is a planning system that moves at the pace of the companies it serves, says Jane Hutchins
The government’s confirmation that it will press ahead with the Oxford-Cambridge corridor is welcome news not just for the region, but for UK plc too. It is a part of the UK that we should support, given its outsized role in generating growth, its high productivity, and the sheer number of companies that have started here. The key question the Government must answer now is what support for the region looks like, to prioritise the much needed investment that we need so great companies don’t just start here, but scale here too.
The numbers show the scale of the problem. Research from Bidwells and Beauhurst shows that since 2022, only 8p in every £1 of growth-stage investment in UK university spin-outs has come from all-UK rounds.
Intangible benefits
At a recent event hosted at Cambridge Science Park, we heard why that matters. Charlotte Lawrence of the British Business Bank was clear that founders would rather build their businesses in the UK. But as domestic capital thins out, foreign capital comes in, and the benefits of brilliant companies can follow it abroad. This loss should not just be measured in pure economic terms, but in talent terms too. As the UK loses successful entrepreneurs, the unquantifiable, intangible benefits of having them here goes too.
Part of the reason the region has been so successful is proximity. It works because companies, researchers, investors and talent sit close enough to move between each other quickly. Two of our companies recently discovered over lunch that they were working on complementary technologies, and are now developing a test for sepsis together. By making it easier to travel and work between Oxford and Cambridge, we will see more stories like this.
That is why the corridor matters, and why support has to go beyond words. What we need is a planning system that moves at the pace of the companies it serves. Our masterplan for growth, submitted in May, would nearly triple built space to 8m sq ft within the Park’s existing boundary. It would create 20,000 jobs and lift annual output from £1bn to more than £3bn, and it is entirely privately funded. What it needs from the government is not money but momentum.
Confidence is also key. Private capital for labs and R&D will not forgive mixed signals but instead values clear, long-term thinking. A clear delivery timetable, reported on regularly through Number 10 North, would tell investors this Government is backing the region for the long term. That matters to companies thinking about where, and how much, to invest.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to the region and its acknowledgement that it is a key vehicle for UK growth. Investors deciding where to put their money over the next decade will be watching closely for what this commitment actually looks like in practice.
Jane Hutchins is the director of external relations and innovation at Cambridge Science Park