Plans revealed for ‘global first’ child health centre at Sheffield’s Olympic Legacy Park

Scarborough Group International (SGI) submitted the plans to Sheffield Council in partnership with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

It will cost £26 million and is partly funded by £8.9 million from the government’s Levelling Up fund.

The 36,000 sq ft National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), based at the Legacy Park, will feature laboratories, workshops and clinical spaces used for work focussing on developing technologies to address key child health issues such as obesity, mental health, cancer and disabilities.

Mark Jackson, group director at SGI, said: “This planning submission is an important milestone in delivering our vision for the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, a scheme that will put Sheffield at the forefront of the UK life sciences industry.

“Not only will the NCCHT deliver life-changing health innovations to children from across South Yorkshire and beyond for generations to come, but it will provide an opportunity to attract highly-skilled researches and medical professionals to the city creating over a hundred highly-skilled jobs.

“As development partner for the next phase of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, we have worked in partnership with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield City Council to rapidly progress the design of this transformational project and we are looking forward to commencing construction work on site in the very near future.”

Professor Paul Dimitri, director of research and innovation at the Children’s NHS Trust, said it has been cited by industry partners as a global first.

He added: “It is set to develop the most advanced therapies in the world through digital and technology development for children and young people. The current pandemic has brought some challenging child health issues back into stark focus – childhood obesity, mental health, access to healthcare for children with complex health needs and collectively the need to ensure that we protect children as they develop. The National Centre for Child Health Technology will play a central role in ensuring that we advance the way we develop sustainable and transformational healthcare and drive prevention for children to ensure the future is bright.”

To read the plans in full or comment, visit: https://planningapps.sheffield.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage