Government funding gives massive boost to region’s flagship new healthtech innovation hub

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin and Leeds City Councillor, Helen Hayden visited Leeds Teaching Hospitals’ Old Medical School this week to give their support to the flagship project of the £180million West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Technology zone.  

The pair met with the Trust’s Chair Dame Linda Pollard and Chief Executive, Professor Phil Wood, to see first-hand the vision for transforming the approx. 7,000 sq. m, Old Medical School building with its long history of medical innovation, into a healthtech innovation hub as the first phase of the Innovation Village.

The new Healthtech Innovation Hub is the exciting first phase of the Trust’s 1 million sq. ft Leeds Innovation Village on the site of Leeds General Infirmary, the catalyst of which is the construction of Leeds Trust’s new state of the art digital hospital on the same site.

The Innovation Village is a transformational health and life science-led development in Leeds City Centre, delivering 4,000 new jobs and up to £13bn economic boost for the region. A pivotal part of the city’s Innovation Arc, it will enable innovation that creates a healthier, greener and inclusive future for Leeds, the region and across the globe.

The Trust is currently progressing a restricted marketing process to select a developer for the Old Medical School, who will be appointed in May 2024.    Additional capital and resource funding to support the refurbishment of the Old Medical School and provide business support programmes is expected to be made in April 2024 by the West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Technology zone. This investment will leverage significant private match funding to deliver and activate a healthtech innovation hub for West Yorkshire.

Dame Linda Pollard, Chair of the Leeds Innovation Partnership said: “I am delighted that the Old Medical School has been chosen to be the flagship project for the West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Technology zone and it is great to see our vision for a leading Healthtech Innovation hub get this boost.   

“The Healthtech Innovation Hub will uniquely co-locate clinicians, entrepreneurs, and academics for the first time and provide space for scale ups and start-ups. Running alongside the Trust’s new state of the art hospitals of the future, this infrastructure for the city really will be a hotbed of innovative thinking, collaboration and development bringing life-changing benefits for patients being treated in Leeds and impressive economic benefits for the city and wider region.”