Bid to create Europe's largest cluster for manufacturing

cutting edge: The high-speed sleds used in the Winter Olympics were manufactured in the region, adding to the immense heritage of skills. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Is there anyone who isn’t aware that we attracted the investment of supercar makers McLaren and aero giants Boeing and Rolls-Royce?

And who won’t have seen the blades on the ice skates worn by Olympic athletes and Torvill and Dean, and the high-speed sleds in the Winter Olympics – all made in this region. Together we are creating a new way forward for our immense heritage of skills.

Our ambition now is to create Europe’s largest advanced manufacturing cluster, which our Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) is already making a reality.

The AMID sees work start next month on the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre AWRC alongside the Legacy Park, while in the wings the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering is ready to be another key occupant.

With investors keen to hear about opportunities in the Sheffield City Region just last week at MIPIM Cannes, the global property conference, we showcased a long list of successes and £1bn of offers including AMID, our international Aero Centre, and massive urban regeneration.

A fly-through app was unveiled to illustrate the exciting sites available for development and their connectivity across the region. See http://bit.ly/2p8Aa06 to explore it for yourself.

Key among the investment opportunities is the £300m Sheffield City Gateway which will reshape the city for the 21st century and beyond.

In partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, this will create a new gateway between Sheffield’s major transport hub and the thriving heart of the city, and combine high specification commercial, retail, and academic space including a hotel and public square, and a new location for university buildings.

The project may include direct investment or joint venture with the university, which is the landowner and able to commit up to £100m of estate to the project.

Our work to provide housing for the region is also coming to the fore, with an exciting £10m ‘fast track’ housing pilot inspiring a host of inventive ideas.

Work starts this month on the first being built in the centre of Sheffield by the Guinness Partnership, one of the largest social housing and care bodies in the UK.

Projects submitted for the pilot could provide 1,500 homes, with SCR infrastructure funding unlocking 14,000 homes.

At the £340m Waterside mixed-use development in Chesterfield, one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects, the scheme part funded by the City Region will build 1,200 homes close to the town centre and the Chesterfield Canal and River Rother.

In Rotherham, Bassingthorpe Farm is a major new development planned for the north west of the town centre. Over the next 20 years it will provide around 2,500 new homes, along with employment opportunities, a new primary school, play areas, sports pitches, allotments and a local centre. The project will be seeking development partners later in 2018 to achieve a start on site in 2020/21.

We are blessed with the beautiful Peak District on our doorstep, and a strong outdoor economy.

To maximise visitor stays in the region, the City Region has helped get the ‘Peak Resort’ project close to Sheffield off the ground to provide quality accommodation and tempt tourists to stay longer.

Work has started on the public infrastructure and Phase One of the resort will open in 2020. Investors interested in opportunities for Phase Two and Three can contact the City Region.

Added to this great quality of life, we have emerging urban centres which are providing shops and leisure facilities fit for a 21st century region.

Major regeneration is underway, from Barnsley’s Glass Works – the name is a nod to the heritage of the glassmaking industry for which it was famous – to the City Gateway in Doncaster, the Northern Gateway in Chesterfield, and the Heart of the City II in Sheffield.

This is a region where many strengths come together and make many investment opportunities. Truly, a great City Region to live, work, play and invest in.

City region’s success at MIPIM

The 29th edition of global property conference MIPIM took place in Cannes, France from March 13 to 16.

Sheffield City Region celebrated the following success at the conference:

The SCR won the prize for ‘Best Foreign Direct Investment Strategy’ in the fDi Magazine awards, with Sheffield City Council picking up the ‘Best for Connectivity’ prize

The SCR’s new interactive app, which allows potential investors to ‘fly’ through investment opportunities across the region, was launched at MIPIM and proved a great hit. See http://bit.ly/2p8Aa06.