A major new report highlights how growth across the East West Rail Oxford-Cambridge supercluster is accelerating, with Stevenage and Milton Keynes now rivalling Oxford and Cambridge across key economic indicators.
Published by the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board and produced with the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge, the report shows the corridor has become one of the UK’s most significant engines of knowledge-intensive growth.
The findings reveal:
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3,000 knowledge-intensive firms employing 152,000 people
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£45 billion in annual turnover, representing over a third of the supercluster economy
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Productivity levels significantly higher than the wider regional economy, with around a third of turnover generated by just over a quarter of corporate jobs
Crucially, the data shows that growth is no longer concentrated solely in Oxford and Cambridge. The central corridor, including Milton Keynes and Stevenage, now matches or exceeds the two university cities across several measures of employment, turnover, and company density.
Business leaders from organisations including AstraZeneca, GSK, Airbus, Leonardo, AVEVA, Darktrace and the Ellison Institute of Technology are calling on government to fast-track approvals for East West Rail. They argue that beginning construction within this parliament is essential to unlocking investment, creating a single connected labour market, and delivering the corridor’s estimated £78 billion growth opportunity.
The report sets out three priority actions for government:
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Accelerate the East West Rail approvals process and begin phased construction during this parliament
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Establish a dedicated Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor governance structure spanning the whole region
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Publish a supercluster-wide strategy and spatial plan to align housing, labs, workspace and infrastructure
The analysis also shows the corridor’s strengths align closely with the UK’s industrial strategy priorities, including life sciences, digital and technology, advanced manufacturing and defence. Together, these sectors account for 27 percent of regional employment, reinforcing the corridor’s national and global significance.
For Advanced Oxford, the findings underline the importance of connectivity, pace and certainty in enabling Oxfordshire and its neighbouring centres to compete globally, attract investment, and support the growth of science-based businesses at scale.
