The UK Innovation Corridor Local Industrial Strategy Prospectus - a Local Industrial Strategy Prospectus for the UK’s leading tech region - was launched at the annual conference on 27 June.

This prospectus includes a bold new set of proposals for collaborating with HM Government to substantially drive forward the global ambitions for the UK industrial strategy.

The UK Innovation Corridor (UKIC) is a leading global knowledge region and has the potential to drive forward the UK’s Industrial Strategy if it can secure the investment it needs in skills, the availability and quality of new housing, the availability of employment land and premises, and digital connectivity.

Powered by world-leading technology jobs and knowledge-based industries, the UK Innovation Corridor (UKIC) is a leading region for international growth, with 11.8%
GDP growth between 2012 and 2015, ahead of all other international comparators apart from Silicon Valley, which recorded 19.1% growth.

Consortium members are working hard to do this and have developed six ‘asks’ of UKIC stakeholders, businesses and HM Government to help the Innovation Corridor achieve its ambitions:

1) Promoting UKIC’s global leadership and excellence as the country’s key life sciences and agritech Corridor, uniquely able to compete with global competitors

2) Invest and back existing housing growth and spatial planning initiatives to deliver investment in housing in order to unlock matched and enhanced private sector funding

3) Deliver key infrastructure investments in road, rail and digital, including along the M11, A10 and A1(M); including four-tracking of the West Anglia mainline, improvements to Ely junction and in smart initiatives such as the West Essex and East Herts Digital Innovation Zone

4) To facilitate the establishment of a strategically significant subnational transport body through enhanced collaboration between Transport East and England’s Economic Heartland

5) To endorse stronger working between LSCC and the five Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) from London to the Wash (the IC5) to develop a powerful and integrated UK Innovation Corridor Industrial Strategy

6) Support for the UKIC Skills Concordat to give policy support to stimulate greater cooperation between universities, colleges, skills providers, LEPs, local authorities and employers in order to raise levels of productivity and skills.

Ann Limb, Chair, LSCC, said: “The challenges across the UK’s Innovation Corridor are well known – we need to improve the supply of skills and labour and community access to jobs; build sustainable communities and meet housing needs, and define employment locations and premises for future growth; not to mention the considerable infrastructure challenges that face us.”

In the Foreword to his 2016 LSCC Growth Commission report, the Commission Chairman, Sir Harvey McGrath said: “The London Stansted Cambridge Corridor represents a unique opportunity to build the next global knowledge region in the UK… our 20-year vision is for the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor to become one of the top five global knowledge regions, alongside San Francisco – Silicon Valley, Boston Route 128, and The Triangle.”