Oxford-Cambridge Arc
The Oxford-Cambridge (sometimes Oxbridge or Oxford2Cambridge) Arc is a strip of primarily agricultural land between the two English university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, roughly following the Stagecoach X5 bus route, and on the northern rim of the London commuter belt. The Arc includes the purpose-built new towns of Milton Keynes and Cambourne, covering parts of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
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Local Industry
The Arc, which includes Silicon Fen, is a major centre of the UK's high tech manufacturing and research industries, and describes itself as "the European Hi-tech Capital for Knowledge-based industries" on its website. It is serviced by four international airports (Stansted, Luton, Heathrow and Birmingham International), all located just outside the Arc itself. Cranfield airport takes executive jets at the centre of the arc. Other major industries include agriculture, tourism, construction, entertainment, education, retail and finance. A high proportion of the population commutes daily to London.
Universities
The Arc has major University sector with 20,000 workers as part of the knowledge economy; Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Buckingham, The Open University (HQ Milton Keynes), Cranfield University, De Montfort (Bedford), Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin (Cambridge).
Demographics
The Arc is one of the most ethnically diverse regions of the UK. Bedford, roughly central to the Arc and with a population of 100,000, is home to native speakers of over 100 languages, a figure which rivals London, Birmingham and Manchester. The Arc has the fastest growing population of any of the similar regions within the UK; several of the major towns, most notably Milton Keynes and Bedford, are set to expand by up to 50% over the coming few decades, while others, such as Cambourne, have been built from scratch within the last decade. The rapid expansion of the population, coupled with a rise in wages locally, has fueled some of the steepest house price rises in the UK over the period 1995-2005.
Politically, the Arc is traditionally a Conservative stronghold, with only the urban constituencies returning Liberal Democrat or Labour MPs. Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge are some of the main centres of rowing in the UK, and the region also boasts some of the UK's top rugby union clubs.
Major Settlements
- Oxford
- Kidlington
- Bicester
- Buckingham
- Milton Keynes
- Newport Pagnell
- Cranfield
- Leighton Buzzard
- Ampthill
- Kempston
- Bedford
- Sandy
- Huntingdon
- St. Ives
- St. Neots
- Cambourne
- Cambridge
