The OLP – which is set to become an internationally recognised centre for health, wellbeing and innovation – is featured in the Government’s Inspired by 2012: The legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games report.
Published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport ahead of Rio 2016, it recognises the OLP as an example of legacy best practice, bringing together elite, professional and community sport, health and wellbeing research and innovation and academia.
The report also highlights the development of the National Centre of Sport and Exercise Medicine model which is being developed in Sheffield and forms part of the OLP.
The 35-acre Olympic Legacy Park – the biggest London 2012 legacy project of its kind in Europe – is being developed in the East End of Sheffield and will be home to a cluster of health, sport and education facilities.
Oasis Academy Don Valley, an all-through inclusive Academy for children aged 2 to16, opened on the OLP with its first class in September 2015 and will grow year on year until it reaches full capacity in 2021.
UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park campus will open on the OLP in September. The £10 million facility for 600 students, aged 14 to 19, will specialise in healthcare and sports sciences, and computing.
This summer, work is due to start on the multi-sport Park Community Arena, a 3G community sports pitch and landscaping to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation activities such as running, walking and cycling.
There will also be a variety of natural habitats with flora and fauna, an orchard with fruit trees and vantage points offering views of Sheffield.
The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) on the Olympic Legacy Park will be the most advanced research and development centre for physical activity in the world, creating ‘innovations that help people move’ in sport, healthcare, physical activity and leisure.
The English Institute of Sport Sheffield, iceSheffield and Don Valley Bowl are also part of the Olympic Legacy Park.
Richard Caborn, project lead for the Olympic Legacy Park, said: “The Olympic Legacy Park is one of the most exciting projects to be developed as part of the legacy of London 2012 and will place the Sheffield City Region at the heart of future global health and wellbeing innovations.
“Through the Olympic Legacy Park, we’re delivering legacy, not just through investment in sport, but healthy living and community cohesion, which is driving economic growth and economic regeneration and we’re proud this has been recognised by the government’s Inspired by 2012 report.
“When fully operational, up to 3,000 athletes, professional sports teams, students and researchers will use the OLP every day including 800 new jobs.
“It will make a positive contribution to the NHS through research into health conditions such as obesity and diabetes, and carry out sport and health and wellbeing research studies involving elite athletes, teams and students based on the park as well as the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine creating a unique ‘living laboratory’.”
The Olympic Legacy Park is a joint venture between the public and private sectors, led by Legacy Park Ltd with partners Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The full report can be viewed here
For more information follow @OLPSheffield on Twitter, search for Olympic Legacy Park on Facebook or connect with Legacy Park Ltd on Linkedin.
