Britain needs a new SEZ: Loxbridge University City between London, Oxford and Cambridge
By George ELIOT
In anticipation of a new UK Government policy for the development of the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor (to be announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, on January 29, 2025), there is one glaring opportunity: to create a new University City between Oxford and Cambridge as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Or even better a "Special Educational Economic Zone" (SEEZ).
GLOBAL DEMAND vs. UK SUPPLY
There is huge demand for British university education among overseas students (and their parents). For example, there are currently 200,000 Chinese university students enrolled at British universities. Yet, this type of numbers are just the top (if not the tip) of the iceberg of university demand, as successive British Governments from both sides of the political spectrum have been trying to ration the provision of education to overseas students by implementing restrictive student visa policies.
OVERSEAS STUDENT VISAS
For a start, it is not clear why overseas students need to be counted as immigrants for the 3 or 4 years of their studies. Many of them leave the UK after graduation to go back to their home country or move elsewhere around the world. It would be only fair to count as immigrants just those who settle down in the UK after graduation.
Secondly, while in the 20th century a foreign citizen could have entered the UK on a student visa and then disappeared fairly easily, in the era of social media, mobile phones and surveillance cameras such a plot would be much harder to pull off. This is particularly true for young people with aspirations who want to pursue a meaningful career rather than those content to wash dishes at the back of an illegal restaurant. And it so happens that the potential university applicants who can afford to pay GBP 30,000 - 40,000 per year to study at a British university belong to exactly this category of international high-fliers.
CHINESE UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES
If China can teach Britain a lesson about university education (especially in recent years), it is that almost all leading Chinese universities have opened second, third and even fourth campuses in and around their home city over the last 20 years. Typically these campuses are located further out, away from the city centre. Chinese bachelor students often start their studies at the newer out-of-town campus and move to the older inner-city campus for their third or fourth year (or for a masters).
The booming Chinese city of Shenzhen (China's Silicon Valley, across the border from Hong Kong) is a great example of such an agglomeration of new campuses. A special area of the city called Shenzhen University Town hosts back-to-back the campuses of seven of the most prestigious Chinese universities (including Tsinghua, Peking University, and Harbin Institute of Technology).
PRIME UK LOCATION
The Bedford-Luton-Milton Keynes (BLMK) triangle, which is equidistant from Oxford, Cambridge and London (50-60 km away from the boundaries of each city) is currently mostly agricultural land, plus a couple of lakes and the Woburn Safari Park. This area is in superb proximity to three of the best university agglomerations in the world: Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London are consistently ranked among the Top 10 universities in the world (e.g. in the 2024 Times Higher Education Ranking); while University College London (UCL), King's College London (KCL) and the London School of Economics (LSE) are in the World Top 50. In addition to these six leading universities, Britain has another 18 research-intensive universities that form the prestigious Russell Group of 24 top British universities (including the universities of Warwick and Birmingham, which are located northwest of the BLMK area).
AGGLOMERATION EFFECTS
A new University City SEZ / SEEZ in the Loxbridge Triangle (London-Oxford-Cambridge) or more specifically in the BLMK Triangle would not need to host new campuses for all 24 universities, but it would need to bring together at least several of them in order to create agglomeration effects. Clustering several university campuses together in one city would help develop an authentic student environment; and would more easily convince the local and national authorities that the area deserves dedicated transport infrastructure (good train and motorway connections to London, Oxford and Cambridge). Luton and Milton Keynes are located on the M1 motorway from London to Birmingham, Sheffield and Leeds; and Luton International Airport is already conveniently located just outside the BLMK Triangle and provides low-cost connections to over 100 destinations around Europe (and as far away as Egypt).
PROSPECTS FOR NEW LOXBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CITY
The building of a new Loxbridge University City entirely depends on support by the UK Government: firstly to allocate the leading British universities additional quotas for overseas student recruitment for their new campuses in the BLMK Triangle; and secondly to champion the planning and infrastructure design required for a major real estate development like this - and especially one that will need to be built on agricultural land (plus the odd safari park).
Provided these two premises are fulfilled, the future of a Loxbridge New University City is bright, even if it may not be triangular.
Comments
Post a Comment