West Northants at the heart of driving innovation as region receives £20m funding boost
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and the wider Silverstone Vision Board are among partners driving forward a new wave of innovation across the region backed by up to £20 million of government funding.
The investment announced today for the central area of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, which includes Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, comes from the £500 million Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to enable organisations and businesses to turn cutting‑edge ideas into real‑world impact.
Working with partners across this central stretch of the Corridor, the successful “Innovation Circuit” bid will deliver programmes that strengthen capabilities in autonomous systems, high‑performance engineering and dual use space and defence technologies, including through the Silverstone Vision 2035 and the businesses at Silverstone Park and the wider Silverstone Cluster.
The programme will build on the thousands of high‑skilled jobs already supported by the motorsport, engineering and space sectors, building pipelines for further growth, and reinforcing this part of the Corridor as a key hub for applied innovation within the wider Oxford–Cambridge area.
West Northamptonshire Council is working with other partners in the central area of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, including the
Open University which is leading the consortium, the Silverstone Vision Board, Silverstone Technology Cluster, neighbouring authorities, Cranfield University and the University of Northampton.
All partners across the region will now work with UKRI to shape the projects that will receive support, focusing on collaborative R&D, talent development, integrated testbeds and clear routes to investment and new markets.