Moves to support the creation of a world-leading NHS research centre into children’s health are set to be approved by members of Sheffield City Council.

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has been working on a proposal to develop the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park (SOLP) in Attercliffe. It will focus on the development of innovative technologies for child health.

As well as developing new treatments and technologies through cutting-edge research and focusing on innovative ways to promote children’s health and wellbeing, there will be a therapy and rehabilitation space for children with long-term conditions.

Building work is expected to start in December and the facility is set to open early in 2026, according to a report to be considered by the council’s finance committee next Monday (July 22). The committee will be asked to approve the disposal of land at the Olympic Legacy Park through a 250-year lease to the NHS trust.

An image of what the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), which is being developed at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in Attercliffe, could look like. Image: Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

placeholder image — An image of what the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT), which is being developed at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in Attercliffe, could look like. Image: Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

The NHS trust has been working with property firm Scarborough Group International on the proposal. The council won around £9m of funding for the plan from the government’s Levelling Up Fund and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has granted an additional £6m for the scheme.

The trust is currently raising the rest of the cost of the project, which is expected to total £20m. The Children’s Hospital Charity is also raising £2m.

The council and the NHS trust signed a memorandum of understanding on the project in 2021, which was officially announced in February 2023 at the Olympic Legacy Park on Worksop Road.

In 2020, the council made an agreement with Scarborough to develop the commercial plots on the Olympic Legacy Park, retaining 10 per cent of the land in order to create publicly-funded research facilities in line with the vision for the SOLP, which stands on the site of the old Don Valley Stadium.

Originally the plan was for Scarborough and the NHS trust to collaborate to bring the new centre to fruition but now the trust will go ahead with the project on its own, which has led to the need for a new direct lease agreement with the council.