A few years ago there was much discussion about the so-called Oxford-Cambridge Arc, a plan for new homes and businesses. The idea of the previous government was that a new fast route or Expressway would link the two cities via Milton Keynes and other places in between and there would also be a direct railway connection. Along this would be places for businesses to open up and homes for people working in them to live. In return for getting planning permission, the developers putting up the houses would pay contributions towards local infrastructure - technically called Community Infrastructure Levy or CIL, previously known as S.106 money after S.106 of the Planning Act 2008. This would then be used to pay for the road. The term "expressway" was adopted, as we understand it, because CIL funds can't legally be used to pay for motorways so another name was invented. The developers would add the cost onto the price of the houses, and everyone would be happy. Apart, that is, from environmental and other pressure groups who complained that it was wrong to introduce more residents, roads and traffic to the already overcrowded south-east of England and they should instead be directed to parts of the country where they were badly needed. In the end the plan fizzled out and "levelling up" became the new buzzword (or phrase).
Now it is back with a bang following today's announcement from Rachel Reeves. It is now called the "Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor", a 70-mile stretch of land to "nurture life sciences and AI businesses that could boost the economy by up to £78 billion" (where do they get these figures from?)
The village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire, which sits close to the intersection of the east coast main line and the proposed route of the rail link, will be the site of a new station and is expected to become one of the government's proposed new towns "with the potential for hundreds of thousands of [new] homes." It seems certain that there will again be considerable opposition to the plans but it's reported that Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer "have promised to override nimbys in the name of growth." The aspiration of the previous government was to build 150,000 new homes in Cambridgeshire alone (downgraded from 250,000) but this seems to have been shelved.
What effect will this have on West Oxfordshire? It's really too soon to tell. There is no suggestion at the moment that our area will become a site for high-tech businesses (so no "Silicon Wold"?). However if such firms do sprout up around Oxford, on places like the Oxford North Science Park being constructed by the A40, this might encourage their staff to commute from the leafy countryside and put more pressure on housing. It could mean that investment will be funnelled towards the east side of the county rather than the west. Whether that is good is a matter of opinion.
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