Oxford has come
first with Cambridge a close second as the city with the best growth potential
in the England, according to a report published this week by Arcadis. The report highlights Oxford as having substantial
potential with only Edinburgh rating higher in the UK.
The report states
that Oxford and Cambridge are set to be boosted by the Oxford – Milton Keynes –
Cambridge corridor.
Arcadis scored
cities in several areas including economic performance, branding, housing,
quality of life, quality of place, people, growth and infrastructure. These
measures were used to identify the attractiveness for future inward overseas
investment for social and economic growth. Oxford achieved a total score of
56.1% with Cambridge on 55.8%, with only Edinburgh topping them within the UK
with a score of 65.5%. The report looked at a total of 24 UK cities.
Particularly
highlighted were collaboration and JV investments as key to fulfilling the
potential, especially in housing and infrastructure – which is a key focus of
the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor project. The report states
that the corridor will improve investment potential by reducing congestion,
making housing more affordable and enhancing connectivity. The corridor is
expected to play an important part in enhancing future investment, particularly
in the following key areas:
·
Housing – to reduce the ratio of average house prices to average
earnings;
·
Road congestion – reducing the hours spent per year in traffic jams;
·
Enhanced airport connectivity – to improve journey times to and from key
airports
The first two of
these has been given top priority in the work of the Oxfordshire Growth Board
(consisting of all six Oxfordshire local authorities). The £215 million Housing
and Growth Deal between Oxfordshire and the government is expected to be signed
off at the end of this month, and will support the opening up of new housing
sites around the county and the development of a Local Industrial Strategy for
Oxfordshire.
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