Olympic Legacy Park welcomes high profile visit

INTEREST in Sheffield’s Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) is significantly building outside the region, according to former sports minister Richard Caborn, who is driving the project.

Senior representatives from the Toshiba Corporation, the multinational conglomerate with a diverse product range including vehicles, electronics and technology, household appliances, health and medical kit, flew in from Japan to meet with key figures behind the plans for the Olympic legacy project on the site of the former Don Valley Stadium in the city’s East End.

The OLP will feature an Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) which represents a unique opportunity for the practical development of the country’s wellbeing agenda and delivering the 2012 Olympic Legacy on Health.

The AWRC will be based in a multi-million state of-the-art facility, the centrepiece of the new Olympic Legacy Park which will feature new indoor and outdoor facilities allowing the design, research, evaluation and implementation of products linking the medical, physical activity, leisure and sports sectors.

Former sports minister Richard Caborn, who is driving the project, said: “Interest in what we are doing here in Sheffield is significantly building outside the region, including  a number of international organisations.

“To get a visit from Toshiba sends out a strong message about the Legacy Project. To get three senior people from that same organisation coming to Sheffield indicates the strength of our offer. They were very interested in the Olympic Legacy Park and the AWRC and how our proposals could fit in with their forward planning around product development in the health and physical activity sectors.”

The Toshiba party also visited the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), including the Medical Advanced Research Centre, on the Rotherham-Sheffield border.

The OLP is a joint venture between Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Sheffield City Council and the private sector. It has attracted nearly £40m of investment from the public and private sectors (for basketball, rugby and a hotel), a second University Technical College and an Oasis Community Learning school. A further £10m is being sought from the Regional Growth Fund.

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