The Healthtech Center will move forward at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park

A lease between the city council and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has been sealed, allowing plans for the National Center for Child Health Technology to go ahead.

Members of Sheffield City Council’s financial policy committee have voted to approve the lease with the trust for the council-owned site.

NCCHT already agrees. Scarborough Group, which is Sheffield’s development partner for the masterplan, brought in experienced consultant Ian Sanderson last month as it looks to step up.

The intention is that the new center will help create a healthier future for children and young people through innovation, technology and outstanding care.

SCC said it will have all the dedicated spaces and facilities needed to design, create and test new technologies for child health. It will include a gait and movement lab, including a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment (CAREN), and a creative manufacturing area with 3D printing, robotics, laser cutting and other tools to develop prototypes.

There will also be a smart home and a smart center that will create simulated real-life environments for testing technologies.

Cllr Zahira Naz, chair of the Finance Policy Committee, said: “This is a crucial step in the process of bringing the National Center for Child Health Technology to life. Sheffield Childrens NHS Foundation Trust is one of three dedicated children’s hospital trusts in the UK and this National Center will take their work to the next level.

“The new center is also a key part of our regeneration in Attercliffe, alongside the Waterside project, which will see around 1,000 new homes built, and the transformation of the former Adelphi Cinema and builds on the success we have already seen at Sheffield. Olympic Legacy Park.”

Sheffield City Council successfully applied for £9m from the Local Government Fund to help Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust with the project with a further £6m grant coming from the South Yorkshire Combined Mayor’s Authority and £2 million from the Children’s Hospital Charity.

John Williams, Deputy Chief Executive of the NHS Trust, said: “It’s great to be working in partnership with the Council on this inspiring project which will help create a healthier future for children and young people locally, regionally and nationally. Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is a truly unique space which we hope will be a fantastic home for advancing innovation and technology in children’s health.”