'Science Cities: Oxfordshire and the Growth Corridor' - report part one

Future Cities Forum's first panel discussion at Jesus College, Oxford in the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub (designed by MICA Architects)

Future Cities Forum gathered leadership from the Oxfordshire region and the West Midlands to discuss the recently published interim Oxfordshire Growth Commission Report, investment required for infrastructure connectivity, and continuing concerns around building housing on the Green Belt.

Those taking part in the opening panel discussion included Cavendish ('Cav') Elithorn, Director – H M Treasury, Cllr Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxford County Council, Cllr Ian Courts, Deputy Leader Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council / Board Director West Midlands Combined Authority, Clive Tritton, Interim Director of Regeneration, Oxford City Council, Victoria Collett, Director, Thomas White Oxford for Oxford North and Matthew Humphreys, Director, Scott Brownrigg.

Cavendish ('Cav') Elithorn, Director with oversight of the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor at H M Treasury commented on the outlook for investment in infrastructure across the Corridor:

'We think about the Growth Corridor on three levels and one of these is industrial strategy. How do we get companies growing and how do we support them in the right way with infrastructure? This approach is predicated on creating fantastic places and connectivity and the agglomeration benefits of these for communities and businesses. We know some of this growth is held back by the infrastructure challenges of having sufficient power, water and sewage services in place and so on.

'When you look at how these things are funded, much of this is via regulatory settlements with private sector developers so for government intent on creating a good environment for investment it's about unblocking the system, and attacking some of the planning challenges.

'However when you look at creating the connectivity between places this is often funded by government. There is a lot of government capital going into transport as often the commercial returns are not there for private sector. In France they subsidise transport infrastructure up to a level of 60 per cent because they see the agglomeration benefits in doing so, and the private car alone will not deliver that.

'One of my favourite transport mode comparison diagrams shows how just two tracks of trains is equivalent in transport efficiency terms to five tracks of trams, seven tracks of buses and 28 tracks of cars (or similar figures). Really the only way of efficiently bringing people into city centres is via public transport. So if you really want to densify and increase agglomeration then public transport projects, like East West Rail to connect the Oxford Cambridge Corridor, is really important.

'Most of the transport improvements are funded by the state, and sometimes this does achieve effective land value capture whereby the uplift in land value created by proximity to new infrastructure is retained to benefit local communities and not just for the landowner. I am an optimist in the sense that I think there is a huge amount of benefit that can be created by developing the Corridor, and that is something I hope we can all work together on.'

Cav was asked whether the success of the agreement for investment in the Cowley Branch Line would be replicated elsewhere, or would new projects be stymied by financial constraints?

He responded:

'We can't predict the financial future but there is a definite commitment behind the Growth Corridor. I have worked for some time now in transport infrastructure and I know that when you have the wind behind you on a project it is important to try and get it through and completed as fast as possible.'

Cav was asked about the importance of design for good placemaking

' You can see the successful examples globally showing how agglomeration has led to health, social and economic benefits with sites that are well designed for innovation.. There is a commitment in many places to the importance of bringing people together to share ideas and knowledge, for example in the way an innovation campus might deliberately have only one canteen so people have to mingle and share ideas. Design is important too and as Sadie Morgan said 'good design is not expensive if you get it in early.'

Image: CGI of proposed Arden Cross development adjacent to the HS2 Interchange Station at Solihull (courtesy Muse Places)

Future Cities Forum was keen to compare the sustainability of growth in Oxfordshire and that of the West Midlands.

The issue of building on the Green Belt was directed to Cllr Ian Courts, Deputy Leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council as Ian wrote recently on the Council website that 'the Green Belt has to be about more than just somewhere to build houses, and this is why I have been championing the added principle for the SDS and will continue to focus on the importance of our green spaces and local character. We will continue to take active steps to fight our corner in the region to protect our borough".

He commented to the audience at Future Cities Forum:

'Solihull borough is about two thirds green belt but the economy is one of the strongest in the UK. It's not large but it delivers a lot to the Exchequer and there is a tremendous appetite for growth. My council has always been pro-growth and when the HS2 decision to was taken to build a high-speed railway we made a decision that if 150 acres was taken out of green belt (for the HS2 Interchange Station in Solihull) then we wanted an investment zone and we wanted housing. There are also plans progressing for a healthcare campus in partnership with the University of Warwick. It is really just up to HS2 to release the land. Growth is no good just on its own as it must deliver economic and health benefits for the community. I introduced a third side of this coin as it were on the importance of the environment and climate change.

'The tensions have increased massively since the new government put out its housing targets. Will somebody please tell the government that the housing growth must come out of a strong economy? It must come out of people wanting to build and people wanting to buy houses, and not just the number of planning consents. Our housing numbers are up by 60 per cent and these will all have to come out of green belt. We are the last green belt between Birmingham and Coventry. People come to Solihull because they like the environment, and somebody said to me recently: 'Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!'

'We can create good 'places' with planned development, but sporadic and poorly planned developments won't do this. For the first time ever we have the whole concept of the green belt under fire. However I want some sympathy for councils. The developers have very deep pockets and will fight any objections.

'Now planning guidance is slanted much more towards making it happen. This puts the integrity of the environment at risk. We want development and we want housing but we need it to be done properly, and developers need to be made to produce good standards and we need biodiversity protected. There need to be mandatory green spaces. There is Birmingham and there is Coventry with just Solihull in between. If that (green belt) goes then I wonder if we will lose something that is too precious.'

With the Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley region considering a mayoral authority Cllr Courts was asked about whether he felt the West Midlands Authority was better at driving things forward, whereas there were too many disparate voices in Oxfordshire. He said:

'Things take time. We - Oxfordshire and Solihull - are both places of high growth potential. We need actual delivery of delivery and not just the rhetoric of delivery which is often what we get. I have been involved with the West Midlands Combined Authority for 10 years since the beginning and I helped shape it. We put aside political differences for the common goals. I sit round the table with Labour and we have common objectives. Oxfordshire can do it if it remembers it is all about collaboration and it's all about getting on together, and making sure you do the delivery of the delivery. There will always be developers talking about the problems of building costs and infrastructure challenges.

'You mention the tram (metro) extension project to east Birmingham. Three years back I got together with the then Leader of Birmingham City Council to tackle the biggest area of deprivation in the Authority which is the area of north Solihull through to east Birmingham up to the 'Blues' (Birmingham City FC) ground. We decided we needed a growth zone where we could re-invest the proceeds into improving the lives of the community. The metro extension that Mayor Richard Parker recently announced is part of this. If you look at the root of so much deprivation it is not just the built environment. You need to join up the front line services from the start of children's lives, including health, children services and employment. That growth zone has started.'

Image: the world famous Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire - 15 miles from Oxford and 4 miles from Didcot Parkway station (courtesy Harwell Campus)

Back in July this year, organisations from across Oxfordshire had welcomed the UK government's recently published Modern Industrial Strategy and Oxfordshire County Council saw this as a huge vote of confidence in the county as well as continued recognition of its potential to lead the national growth agenda.

Cllr Liz Leffman was asked at Future Cities Forum about building inclusive growth for everyone in society:

'It will be much more difficult to manage inclusive growth if we end up in a situation with seven different unitary authorities within the county. One of the key factors is that if we can work together in a collaborative way we have a much better opportunity of tackling challenges, not just in the city but in the county.

'My CEO and myself were clear that the Oxford Growth Commission should be the Oxfordshire Growth Commission because we need growth across the whole county, not just the city, with access to well-paid jobs. The Cowley Branch Line is a great step forward, but we need more county-wide infrastructure if we are to create these communities with access to good jobs. We have some fantastic business parks in the county including Harwell and Culham but also in places like Bicester, Kidlington, Banbury and Witney. They must be brought together.

'One of the issues is that we do not look at this area - Oxfordshire and Oxford - as a single eco-system. One of the university vice-chancellors said to me recently that if you get a job in Boston USA on the other side of the city from where you live, you will be able to travel across the city to get to it from where you live and you don't have to move house. That is not the case here since if you have a job in an Abingdon you are unlikely to be able to travel from Bicester or even Begbroke, north of Oxford. We need to think about the ecosystem in a county-wide way.

'We have recently published our 2040 rail strategy and we know we won't be getting lots of money from central government so we have been considering options with other partners - such as Oxford University on how we fund a station at Begbroke (where the University is progressing a science and housing project) bringing money forward from land value capture, and potentially to pay for a new railway line linking Carterton via Witney to Oxford. That would be a building block but we cannot do it if we are separate authorities.'

'We are keen to include the Berkshire and Buckinghamshire counties as part a wider mayoral authority with links to the Oxford Cambridge Corridor We have a huge opportunity with life sciences. However, it's not all science parks, as there are excellent businesses at Eynsham (Siemens), quantum computing at Kidlington, advanced manufacturing at Bicester and so on. We want to make sure that we develop the infrastructure - including housing - so that these growth businesses stay here rather than migrating elsewhere.'

'Right now in Oxfordshire we have six different authorities. Somehow we have to meld this into something bigger, that can take into account development opportunities across the county. On top of that we have to build a Thames Valley mayoral authority with our colleagues in Berkshire. That would allow us to work more closely on government om the skills agenda.'

Part two of our report will be published shortly with comment from Oxford City Council, Thomas White Oxford for Oxford North and Scott Brownrigg.

Image: CGI of the planned MRI scanner manufacturing plant for Siemens Healthineers at Bicester in Oxfordshire (Courtesy Siemens)