Sheffield City Region secures £2.5m sustainable transport bid

The Sheffield City Region has announced it was successful in its bid for £2.5m from the Government to invest in sustainable travel.

The money will be used to improve the commute of local businesses and employees and help sustain a number of schemes for greener and safer travel.

This project is part of the Sheffield City Region Growth Plan, which aims to create 70,000 jobs and 6,000 new businesses over the next decade.

Sir Nigel Knowles, chair of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said: “We are fortunate to have strong Sheffield City Region working together with the Combined Authority and the LEP.

“This approach is already delivering real value to business and the community. The latest win of £2.5m is just another milestone in our recent work. We have had a busy month and there is more to come.”

In addition, last week Sheffield City Region held its first official Skills Summit, which was attended by over 250 delegates. The event promoted the benefits of an apprentice, the wide range of support available to businesses and some of the real skills success stories in the Sheffield City Region.

Sheffield City Region has also played a major role in the development of the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) - a ‘living lab’ which aims to create synergy between active sport, health studies, and wellbeing research.

The OLP will have an Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at its centre, hosting 50 research academics and PhD students, delivered in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University.

Global technology firm Toshiba, which already agreed to provide £1.5m worth of cutting-edge equipment, and its private sector partner, health insurer Westfield Health, are working closely with the team that is getting the OLP operational.