UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce Tuesday the government is ready to use compulsory purchase powers to accelerate building the Oxford-Cambridge corridor into a major tech hub, dubbed 'the Silicon Valley of Europe'. Reeves will tell landowners they cannot block the project, which forms a core part of her growth strategy alongside closer EU ties and AI investment. The chancellor will state ministers will intervene where landowners are deemed obstructive or demand unreasonable terms, either acting directly or backing local councils using these powers. This bolsters the government's ambition to make the corridor the Silicon Valley of Europe, one official stated.

Reeves aims to pressure landowners into selling by preparing ministers to use compulsory powers even during ongoing negotiations. She will also outline plans for a new development corporation for Greater Oxford, similar to one proposed for Cambridge. Development corporations already hold compulsory purchase powers, including over protected greenbelt land, and ministers are exploring handing these powers to councils and mayors.