The creation of a children’s fitness studio and generational center at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park can be taken a step further if Sheffield City Council approves a deal to lease the proposed council-owned site.
Members of the Financial Policy Committee are required to vote on the advice of an agreement between the council and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, so that the park land can be converted into a National Centre for Children’s Health Technology (NCCHT).
If the lease is approved by committee members, the new center will create a healthier future for children and young people through innovation, generation and exceptional care.
It will have spaces and equipment committed to designing, creating and testing new children’s fitness technologies.
This will feature a gait and movement laboratory with a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment (CAREN) and an artistic production domain with 3D printing, robotics, laser cutting and other generation equipment to expand prototypes.
There will also be a smart home and a smart service that will create simulated real-world environments for the technologies.
Councillor Zahira Naz, chair of the Financial Policy Committee, said: “This is a step in the process of building the National Centre for Technology in Children’s Health.
“Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of three committed children’s hospital trusts in the United Kingdom and this national will take their work to the next level.
“The new center is also a component of our regeneration of Attercliffe, alongside the Waterside project, which will see the construction of around 1,000 new homes and the transformation of the former Adelphi cinema. It builds on the good fortune we have already seen at Sheffield Olympic Heritage Park.
Sheffield City Council has provided £9m from the Local Government Fund for Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the project, with a further £6m grant from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and £2m of pounds sterling from the Children’s Hospital Charity.
John Williams, deputy chief executive of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is wonderful to be collaborating with the Council on this inspiring work which will create a healthier future for young people and other young people locally, regionally and nationally.
“Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a truly exclusive area that we hope will be a fantastic place to promote innovation and technology in children’s healthcare. “
Members of Sheffield City Council’s Financial Policy Committee will meet on Friday 19 July and vote on the council to approve the lease of the flat with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.