Science sector vital for Cambridge growth ambitions - campus
Plans to expand Cambridge Science Park are also in the pipeline
Backing science and research in Cambridge will be key if the city is to reach its growth ambitions.
That's according to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, where 22,000 people currently work and is the city's largest employment site.
"If the infrastructure is provided, growth is absolutely achievable," Ed Watson, the campus' managing director, said.
"Every 10 jobs on the campus supports another 10 jobs across the UK, so whilst a small part of a wider ecosystem, we're an important part of that economic driver."
One example of new infrastructure for the city is a new Cambridge South rail station due to open next month, which will serve the biomedical campus.
More than 1.8 million passengers are expected to visit the station each year.
Support for growth must continue
Rail minister Lord Hendy said the station - backed by £250 million in government funding, "will open up access to jobs, homes and world-class facilities for people across the region".
While Cambridge Science Park hopes its own expansion plans will create 20,000 extra jobs and raise its economic output from £1 billion to more than £3bn a year.
Cambridge Biomedical Campus contributes £4.7bn annually to the UK economy, and Mr Watson feels progress can't stop now.
"It is really vital that the support that has started is continued because if there is a break in confidence, some of the activities on the campus will be lost to other places around the world," he added.
If development plans do go ahead at Cambridge Science Park - Europe's first park of its kind - it will increase space from 2.8m to around 8m square feet, with additional high-skilled jobs in life sciences, technology and clean energy.
Chancellor throws weight behind expansion plans
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also shown her support for the plans, saying the expansion is “exactly the kind of long-term, high-value investment the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor was made for.”
“This privately funded project provides certainty rare in modern development and has the potential to be a key component of the UK’s future economic growth," Jane Hutchins, director of external relations at Cambridge Science Park, said.
"With approval, we cannot wait to see the industries of the future being created here in Cambridge.”
Ms Reeves has previously said the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor - described as "Europe's Silicon Valley" - could add £78 billion to the UK's economy by 2035.
The Chancellor's also backed development corporations for both Cambridge and Oxford by doubling the funding available to buy land and build infrastructure from £400m to £800m.
“Our masterplan is the latest step in Trinity’s long-term backing of the Science Park and surrounding areas," Dame Sally Davies, Master of Trinity College, said.
"Our plan means that economic output from the site is tripled, with productivity twice that of the national average.
"The plan offers a unique opportunity for Britain to lead the global transition into the industries and innovations that will define our future, and continue to change lives all over the world.”