Succeeding as a place, succeeding as a country

We will strengthen global Britain’s position at the forefront of innovation and future growth sectors.

We will:

• Grow our high-tech sectors in space, creative and digital, high performance tech and Medtech, boosting productivity and the shift to carbon-neutrality
• Nurture the clusters around economic assets by accelerating the extension and enhancement of Enterprise Zones, as well as support for post-Brexit trade
• Transform services at scale through health and social care innovation, building on Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s global reputation and expertise, the shared operational boundary with health partners, and the skills offer at our colleges and universities. This could include transforming traditional models of care in the community, and encouraging healthy behaviours and preventative measures to overcome health inequalities and reduce demand on care services
• Develop the innovation ecosystem, connecting businesses to research institutions and universities within Buckinghamshire and beyond
• Rebalance economic growth across Buckinghamshire through opportunities to develop trade and investment hubs in the south of the county, based on sectoral strengths and proximity to Heathrow Airport and London. For instance through expanding the principles of an enterprise zone and the development of new applied and business led research hubs, or exploring opportunities for the establishment of a freeport linked to our nearby airports and international trade
• Underpin the above priorities with high-quality digital infrastructure through ensuring every premise in Buckinghamshire is able to utilise superfast, ultrafast or gigabit-capable connectivity supporting a connected rural economy

This will be a recyclable investment fund with gainshare principles and gateway review. The Fund will catalyse private sector investment, unlock opportunities and take equity shares in key growth businesses in Buckinghamshire’s super strength sectors. Potential projects which could be funded through the Single Pot Investment Fund could include:

• Westcott 10-year programme – ensuring Westcott is a world leading space propulsion test facility, centre for small satellite manufacture and national innovation cluster supporting and growing the UK space sector.
• Westcott Disruptive Innovation Space Centre – providing industry developing novel launch, propulsion and satellite technologies.
• Pinewood Studios Global Growth Hub – supporting recovery in the creative sector and investing in screen and film, including the application and development of virtual and augmented reality technologies.
• Silverstone Long-term Growth Strategy – stimulating the next wave of innovation in green technologies to support aspirations around carbon-neutrality, including Electric Vehicles, battery applications and automated vehicles.
• Silverstone Sports Innovation Campus – expanding a highly successful open-access research and development centre based on the commercial applications for aerodynamics in sport.
• Aylesbury Woodlands Campus development – exploring the creation of a flagship Health and Social Care Campus and centre of innovation at Aylesbury Woodlands to futureproof the healthcare needs of the growing population of Buckinghamshire.

Investing in gigabit-capable connectivity will not only enable typical online activities but it will also allow businesses to engage in the fourth industrial revolution, utilizing innovative technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things communications. This fund would enable our rural economic development zones, which currently do not have superfast connectivity, such as Westcott, to be prioritised in order to enable further economic growth and recovery to be facilitated.