Milton Park benefits particularly from the influence of education and research facilities at nearby Oxford University. Traditionally the Oxford economy is driven by its two universities, tourism and the BMW car plant. But more recently there has been significant expansion in the computer, R&D and telecoms sectors, which includes a large number of research and biotechnology firms, many of which have spun off from the universities.

In terms of Oxford’s total employment growth over the past decade, the financial and business service sector has expanded by 7.3% per annum compared to the average of 3.7%; whilst computing, R&D and telecoms has expanded by 15.6% per annum compared to the average of 5.3% (source: PROMIS)