CPREs unite on the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor
In December 2024, CPRE groups in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes), Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, along with national CPRE agreed a joint policy on the OxCam Arc.
In her speech in January 2025, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, indicated her support for this growth corridor.
What does CPRE want to see?
CPRE wants to see a balanced, transparent and environmentally ambitious strategy for the future development of England. In recent years there has been a disproportionate and damaging focus on growth in the corridor of land between Oxford and Cambridge known as ‘the Arc’. We recognise that there are stresses in the Oxford Cambridge Arc area that strategic planning across multiple local authority areas can play a vital role in addressing. We call on government and local authorities to work within the area’s land and water system capacity and deliver improved rail transport and affordable housing provision in the most suitable locations.
The background
- Since 2016, the government has sought to promote a concentration of economic and housing development in the ‘Arc’, a broad swath of largely undeveloped countryside across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire, and part of Northamptonshire. For the most part the area is economically buoyant with levels of job creation, employment and housing growth well above the national average; although there are significant socio-economic inequalities within several localities. It is a particularly attractive proposition for further development due to the presence of world-leading universities as well as significant spin-off economic clusters and institutions, particularly in the hi-tech and biotechnology sectors.
- The government’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in 2017 recommended that one million new homes and 1.1 million new jobs should be created in this area by 2050 based on a major new ‘Expressway’, and the re-opening of a passenger rail line known as ‘East West Rail’. For context, the entire county of Oxfordshire contains less than 400,000 homes. In 2021 the government published an Arc Spatial Framework scoping document and then consulted on a Vision for the Arc. No further progress has been reported since the consultation closed.
- Successful campaigning by CPRE and others ensured environmental concerns and constraints, especially the challenge of the climate crisis, missing from the NIC’s report, were addressed. The Expressway project was cancelled in March 2021.
What does the policy statement cover?
This policy position statement sets out CPRE’s interest in ‘the Arc’ and the guiding principles by which we think the area should be planned over the coming decades. It represents the combined views of CPRE groups in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes), Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and national CPRE.
Regional development
CPRE wants the government to produce a transparent overall strategy for regenerating the regions of England, and the Oxford Cambridge Arc to be given a fair and proportionate level of resources within that. The strategy must be scrutinised by parliament. Within the Arc we want meeting of affordable, and particularly social housing needs to be the priority.
Climate and nature
CPRE wants a land use framework for the Ox-Cam Arc with policies that will contribute fully to wider national goals for net zero and ecological restoration, and for all commercial roofspace to have solar PV installed.
Landscape Capacity and Character
CPRE wants the character of the rural landscapes in the Ox-Cam Arc to be safeguarded and enhanced.
Sustainable Transport
CPRE wants a more sustainable route found for the Bedford to Cambridge section of East West Rail, along with better transport links to existing communities, and reliance on electric trains.
Process and evidence base
CPRE wants strategic plans for the Ox-Cam Arc to embed environmental assessment, public engagement and for clear joint governance arrangements for future scrutiny and accountability.
Read the full policy document (PDF) for more detail on each of these areas: CPRE policy on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc
