Proposals for a locally-led Partnership for the Oxford to Cambridge region have been given the green light by government.

The Partnership’s role will be to champion the region as a world leader in innovation and business, acting to achieve environmentally sustainable and inclusive growth. It will strengthen cross-boundary collaboration among its partners to focus on tackling the issues that matter to the people who live and work in the region.

The endorsement follows a proposal we submitted to the government with other councils, local enterprise partnerships, the Arc Universities Group and the area’s transport body, England’s Economic Heartland.

Backing for the pan-regional partnership unlocks access to up to £2.5million in government funding for the Partnership to support its priorities in delivering sustainable growth and environmental enhancements for the region.

We have ambitious and bold plans for Central Bedfordshire to continue to deliver jobs, growth and prosperity for our communities and residents.

We welcome government focus to continue to work on growing the economy and the international brand to attract world class employment and innovation opportunities to Central Bedfordshire.

The Partnership’s initial programme is to develop a set of propositions to attract international investment and profile the region on a global stage. It will also continue the work underway to embed shared Environment Principles.