West Northants and Silverstone’s partners at the heart of driving innovation as region receives £20m funding boost
02 April 2026
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.
Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said: “Our Council is delighted to be working as part of this consortium to drive forward innovation and cutting-edge technology across our region and are encouraged by the government’s recent funding announcement.
“West Northamptonshire is already rich in talent, creativity and technical excellence as the home of high-performance, engineering and motorsport industries, and by accelerating our commercial readiness along with our partners in the central spine of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor, we can unlock an estimated £4.5bn in annual GVA (gross value added) by 2035.
“This Innovation Circuit positions our region as the nation’s ‘engine room’ for applied innovation, where breakthroughs move rapidly from lab to street, and from street to scale, driving UK competitiveness and global market leadership. We look forward to working with partners on the Silverstone Vision Board on moving this fantastic programme forward.”