People who live or work in Attercliffe, Darnall and the surrounding area attended the free Olympic Legacy Park Community Event to find out about the 35-acre site which is set to become an internationally recognised centre for health, wellbeing and innovation.
The event was held at the Oasis Academy Don Valley, the first building to open on the OLP, and attendees were given an update on the London 2012 legacy project’s progress by Project Lead, Richard Caborn. It was also an opportunity for members of the community to meet partners of the project including representatives from the Sheffield Sharks basketball team, the Sheffield Eagles rugby league team and the UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park campus.
Ben Handley, Technical Director of Ares Landscape Architects attended the event to showcase the plans for the park landscaping and outdoor spaces, and Professor Steve Haake, Director of the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) provided an update on the centre’s recent developments.
The site will include the UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park campus, which is currently being constructed, Park Community Arena, which will become the new home of Sheffield Sharks, a 3G rugby pitch where Sheffield Eagles will play their home games and Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, plus offices and laboratories for companies involved in health and wellbeing research.
Once complete, the Olympic Legacy Park will also encompass the existing English Institute of Sport Sheffield, iceSheffield, Don Valley Bowl and Oasis Academy Don Valley.
Richard Caborn, Project Lead for the OLP, said: “We’re making great progress with the Olympic Legacy Park but we wanted to further engage the community in the upcoming developments.
“We were delighted with the turnout from the community. This was a chance to bring together representatives from the local area for an extensive consultation to gather their views about how we can maximise the site for them.
“We opened up the dialogue around what they would like to see on the site, such as walking routes, cycle routes, and other community based facilities. And we look forward to using these conversations and ideas to ensure we open the site up even more for the community.”
Further engagement with local residents, businesses and community groups will take place over the coming months. Follow @OLPSheffield on Twitter, like the Olympic Legacy Park page on Facebook or search for Legacy Park Ltd on Linkedin. If you would like to contact the team directly, email info@olympiclegacypark.co.uk or call 0114 261 9604.
