A CONFERENCE into how the new Oxford to Cambridge Corridor could be developed will be held in London next month,.

Speakers including Oxfordshire County Council's strategic director for communities, Bev Hindle, and Oxford University's associate director and head of Knowledge Exchange Phil Clare will be in London to discuss the project.

The National Infrastructure Commission is currently investigating how the East-West Rail link and the £3bn Oxford to Cambridge expressway could be built.

It has said that linking the two cities, along with Milton Keynes, could provide the spine for the UK's version of the United States' Silicon Valley and a world renowned centre for science, technology and innovation.

But it has said the success of that 'is not guaranteed' and that other work must be done to secure that it becomes a success.

In an interim report, published last November, the NIC stated: "This corridor is a national asset, that competes on the world stage and can fire the British economy – but only with an integrated and ambitious strategy to deliver new homes, connectivity and opportunities can it realise its full potential."

Consultation on the Oxford to Cambridge expressway could start in 2019 - but campaigners across Oxfordshire have demanded a say now, as the Oxford Mail reported last week.

Senior councillors and 21 Oxfordshire parish councils said they wanted the chance to give their views on the possible routes for the expressway which might become the route when building starts - which might be as early as 2020.

Speakers at the conference, which will be held on December 7, will include NIC commissioners Sadie Morgan and Bridget Rosewell.

Other representatives will come from areas including Aylesbury, Swindon, Buckinghamshire and Cambridge.

It will be chaired by the MP for Milton Keynes South, Iain Stewart, and Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner.