£1.2bn South Yorkshire Investment Zone supported by Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University has welcomed the announcement that South Yorkshire will be the first region in the UK to benefit from a Government Investment Zone.

Sheffield Hallam has worked with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority, the University of Sheffield and other regional partners to help develop the Investment Zone, which is expected to create 8,000 new jobs for South Yorkshire and bring in £1.2bn worth of private investment by 2030.

Using government support worth £80m, the new Investment Zone will use the region’s success in advanced manufacturing and will help make South Yorkshire the best place to start, scale or relocate businesses from around the world, boosting the UK economy.

Areas within the new Investment Zone include the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, which is home to Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering, and Sheffield City Centre where Sheffield Hallam’s City Campus is located.

Sheffield Hallam recently announced “ambitious” plans for a Health Innovation Campus at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, creating the “most advanced cluster for health, wellbeing and sustainability in the world”, building capacity in skills, research, innovation, business support and community engagement.

Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, commented: “I am delighted that South Yorkshire will be the first region to benefit from this government initiative. Today’s announcement recognises the significant role Sheffield’s universities have to play in driving sustainable economic growth across our region.

“Sheffield Hallam looks forward to working with key partners to develop our clusters of excellence and expand opportunities for research and innovation.”

The first investment announced is a more than £80m Boeing-led research project into manufacturing lightweight structures for aeroplanes, a key part of making aviation more sustainable.

Compass (Composites at Speed and Scale) will be built as an extension to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Factory 2050. It will be built with support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City Council and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard added: “Our Investment Zone will help put South Yorkshire back where we belong; at the forefront of this country’s manufacturing-led growth.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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