Construction has completed on a £17m facility in Sheffield that will become the new home of the National Centre for Child Health Technology.
The Spark, at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, has been delivered by HBC Construction in partnership with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
The 43,000 sqft facility is due to become operational later this year.
“We are proud to have successfully delivered the National Centre for Child Health Technology. It is a landmark and genuinely transformative project for the UK,” said Lee Powell, Managing Director of HBC Construction.
The centre brings together clinical expertise, research and technology development focused on developing and supporting the adoption of new healthcare technologies for children and young people.
The facility is intended to support collaboration between clinicians, academia and industry, as well as work around the government’s longer-term ambitions to make greater use of technology, prevention and community-based care.
Four-storey centre
The building has been constructed around a steel frame incorporating 300 tonnes of British steel and cell beam technology.
The cell beams reduce the weight and embodied carbon of the structure while maintaining its load-bearing capacity.
Their design also allows services including cables and ducts to be integrated through the beams.
The four-storey building has been designed to target a BREEAM Excellent rating, with sustainability measures incorporated throughout its construction and design.
HBC Construction was appointed to deliver the centre in early 2025, with enabling and site establishment works completed before steel erection began in July 2025.
The main steel frame was completed the following month, marking the start of the next phase of construction.
A section of the steel frame was signed by young people involved in the project alongside representatives of the NHS trust, HBC Construction, Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
The signed section will be retained and displayed inside the completed centre.
Supporting child health research
The £17m scheme has been funded by Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.
The centre will provide dedicated space for the development and testing of healthcare technologies, with the aim of helping innovations move into clinical use and improve outcomes for children and young people.
The centre is due to open during Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s 150th anniversary year and the 50th anniversary year of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity in October of this year.
Sheffield Children’s said the new facility will support its work with patients, clinicians, academia and industry as it develops new approaches to children’s healthcare.
