Former Sports Minister, Rt Hon Richard Caborn, is to step down as Chair of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park after nearly 10 years in the role. Richard, who was MP for Sheffield Central for 27 years, has worked tirelessly to help the Park grow into a thriving centre of sport, research, and education for the current and future generations.

Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park is now starting the process of recruiting a new Chair to build on Richard’s work.

Richard said: “It’s been an honour to have supported the creation and growth of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park over the past decade. We wanted to create a tangible legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games here in South Yorkshire that focussed on Sport, Community, Environment and Economy.

“Today we have schools, higher education, state-of-the-art sporting facilities and a host of leading public and private organisations working together to develop a unique innovation ecosystem. The Park has undergone a huge amount of regeneration and investment and is fast becoming one of the largest life sciences parks in the north of England.

“For me it is a real pleasure coming to the Park to see school children and young adults learning in an environment that is totally different from anything we’ve seen before. Not only that, but the Park is a place for them to build careers, be that in sport, research, education, or the many other institutions that are based here. I’m very proud of the role I’ve had in supporting the Park and I look forward to passing responsibility to the next Chair to take it to the next level.”

Richard, who was instrumental in winning the bid for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics during his six years as Sports Minister, had the idea to create the Park as a way of delivering a legacy from the Games. The vision for the Park became a reality in 2015 and since that time the site has grown to the state-of-the-art complex it is today.

Dr Chris Low, Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Chief Executive, said: “What Richard has achieved for South Yorkshire over the past decade has been nothing short of remarkable. Under Richard’s leadership we have attracted more than £100m of investment into world class research, education, and sports facilities that the whole of South Yorkshire and beyond is benefitting from. The site is fast becoming the leading life sciences park in the north of England and every week new organisations are in touch about how they can become a part of its future.

“Richard has an enormous passion for the Park, for what we are trying to achieve and for the communities right across South Yorkshire. It has been a pleasure working alongside him and on behalf of all our stakeholders I would like to thank him for the work he has done to make this possible. We’re now looking for someone who shares Richard’s passion and ambition to take the Park forward and help to improve the lives of people across South Yorkshire.”

The Chair role will be advertised on the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park website throughout Autumn and a recruitment process will follow in December / January, with the expectation that a new Chair will be in place early in 2024.

For more details about the role and the application process, click here