Levelling Up Fund: £37m will fund raft of projects in Sheffield including sculpture park and art gallery

City leaders are celebrating after Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed in his Autumn Budget that Sheffield had been awarded the full amount it asked for, with £20m for the city centre and £17m for Attercliffe.

In the city centre, Castlegate will be redeveloped and two new arts destinations created: Park Hill Art Space and Harmony Works, a music centre in Canada House on Commercial Street which has been disused for years.

In Attercliffe, some £9m will be spent on a children’s health technology centre in the Olympic Legacy Park as well as refurbishing historic buildings on High Street to provide a cultural hub and event space.

Councillor Terry Fox, leader of Sheffield City Council, said the funding was a huge boost to the city.

He added: “It reflects the ambition and confidence we have in Sheffield to move forwards and reach our full potential.

“The regeneration of Castlegate and Attercliffe will provide much-needed investment in these areas, building on the fantastic work already developed recently, supporting the local economy, driving footfall, and improving health and well-being.

“I’m proud of our success and would like to thank all of our partners for their hard work and dedication in putting together bids that will provide so many new opportunities for all those who live, work, learn and enjoy our fantastic city.”

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CASTLEGATE?

In Castlegate, the River Sheaf will be de-culverted and planting new greenery and public spaces introduced.

Park Hill Art Space is set to be ‘one of the largest contemporary galleries in the North’ and a new home to artists from across the city. The project also includes a six-acre sculpture park connecting the Art Space with Castlegate.

Harmony Works in Canada House will give Sheffield Music Academy and Sheffield Music Hub a new home in the city centre serving children and young people. The plans also include a space for public performance.

Louise Hutchinson, CEO and artistic director, S1 Artspace said: "We are thrilled with the LUF grant, the cultural opportunities it will unlock for Sheffield are incredibly exciting and long overdue.

“The combination of schemes across Park Hill and Castlegate will regenerate a unique area of the city and establish a vibrant new quarter for residents and visitors to the city.

“Our plans for Park Hill Art Space will establish a major new destination for arts, culture and heritage at one of Sheffield’s most iconic buildings.”

Emily Pieters, director of Harmony Works, added: “There has never been a more important time to invest in our children and the skills they develop from studying music.

"Through the restoration of Canada House, we will have a city centre home in Castlegate to support the musical lives of children and young people from every corner of our city.

“Harmony Works will be transformational, saving a unique heritage building and positioning Sheffield even more firmly as a city of music.”

Martin McKervey, chair of the Castlegate Partnership, said: “It’s fantastic to see funding for these projects confirmed and will make a real difference to realising the full potential of Castlegate whilst providing great facilities will increase access to opportunities for many people.

“This will be a major step towards our vision of offering an artistic education to every child, regardless of their background. Our partners have achieved great success in coming together to form this bid and it will be great to see our plans come to fruition in the years to come.”

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ATTERCLIFFE?

In Attercliffe, the £9m Centre for Child Health Technology will bring together medical professionals, patients, and families to created what is claimed as ‘the world’s most advanced integrated health care system for children’.

Money will also be spent on regeneration initiatives including improving links between Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and the High Street, sprucing up streets and creating a cultural hub and event space on the High Street.

BUSINESS NEWS: United northern leaders land million from Levelling Up Fund

Ruth Brown, acting CEO at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re working with other partners to finalise the remaining funding, but the Budget announcement is a huge step towards our target.

“We know this centre will bring enormous benefit to healthcare of children across the UK but also internationally. By bringing together clinicians, academics and industry, we have a fantastic opportunity to lead this exciting work from here in Sheffield and provide healthier futures for children and young people everywhere.

“It seems particularly appropriate the funding for this should come from the Levelling Up Fund, as it is clear inequalities have a vast impact on the health of children and young people. Investment in work to address these inequalities is essential to give all children a chance for a strong healthy future.”

Legacy Park Ltd Chair Richard Caborn said: “This is a very welcome announcement and a major building block in the financial structures we are putting in place to ensure that the largest, most advanced child health technology centre in the world will be on Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in 2022.”

In January, The Star revealed details of the ambitious OLP project, set to include a new stadium, arena, office blocks and child health technology centre.

Developers Scraborough Group said some £100m will be spent over the next two years on projects including a £20m diagnostic imagery research hub, a £5m Park Community Arena which will have three basketball courts and become the new home of Sheffield Sharks basketball team and a a 3,900-capacity stadium which will be headquarters for Sheffield Eagles Rugby League.

Over the next five years, £150m will be spent on offices, a conference centre and a hotel arranged around a cricket oval. The company said it could create more than 5,600 jobs and pump £2bn into the local economy.

Sheffield to receive £37m from Levelling Up Fund

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