The public-private partnership, based at Sheffield Hallam University, aims at establishling the region as one of the most innovative, advanced and attractive environments for sports business in the UK.

Born and raised near Bristol, he has spent much of his 43 years south of the Watford Gap, but has lived in Sheffield for 10 years. He is now more than happy to preach the many wonders of Sheffield and the North to blinkered southern friends.

"I grew up in a village north of Bristol, where there wasn't really much to do compared to what is on offer in a big city. Living on the outskirts of Sheffield near to the Peak District in many ways gives me the best of both city and country."

1991 World Student Games

I was completing a Masters degree at Cranfield when the games took place, and I knew nothing of it and its impact on the city until I arrived in Sheffield in 1998. Despite the arguments over cost, it appears that the development of superb sports venues, the expertise to run them and the will to embrace sport as part of the city's regeneration has given Sheffield so much already. Many cities around the world would give their eye teeth for it, and through the catalyst of London 2012, Sheffield has the opportunity to become one of the most active and healthy cities in the UK.

English Institute of Sport

I never fail to be inspired when I walk through the doors of the EIS. It set out to be an elite athlete only training centre, so we have to thank those who stopped buying lottery tickets that forced it to become a community sport facility alongside the elite. How fantastic to see the indoor athletics arena being used for a school sport session one moment, and then have Olympic athletes on it the next. You would be amazed at the range of international standard sport the public can now see there. If you want to get some sense and feel of Olympic sport then this is the place to go – and it wouldn't have been built if the World Student Games never happened.

Old Factories

I had the pleasure of visiting the old John Watts Cutlery Works on Lambert Street back in 2001, just after it had been abandoned. It was a rabbit warren of large and small workshops and cottage dwellings. Much of the old machinery was still there, including the overhead belt-driven lathes. It was a wonderful and eerie time warp, as if the factory simply grew old and died; and where the last man out turned the lights off, locked the door, and left a tomb containing some of the secrets of Sheffield's wealth in the 19th century. Apparently the boss's office was haunted by the ghost of John Watts, and some of those who had been in there had succumbed to some unfortunate event. The door was open to a fully furnished office trapped in the past, but none would enter.

How many other similar buildings still hold such memories and secrets of the past? This one is now a Grade II listed building of 'international importance' and has undergone a sympathetic refurbishment into an attractive mixed use work/living space.

Gripple Spider

The industrial area of the Lower Don Valley is not the most attractive – perhaps only to architects and historians – and it sometimes feels like a ghost town. But here I get a sense of Sheffield's great industrial history and pride as you drive along Brightside Lane. One fine red brick factory building on Savile Street East, known as The Old West Gun Works is brought to life by a giant shiny steel web and spider pinned to the gable end wall. A few more of these at other old factories would create an interesting sculpture trail through Sheffield's industrial heritage.

View over Sheffield from Ringinglow Road

There are fabulous views over Sheffield from the top of Ringinglow Road. I'm fit enough now to make the run from home up to the Norfolk Arms, and I run around Castle Dyke and Whirlow trails regularly. The sense of space the views provide is utterly relaxing on the eyes and mind, which balances the stress I'm putting the rest of my body through. On a clear day I love to spot on the horizon the billowing white smoke from the cooling towers of Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax power stations 30 miles away. They seem to make both impressive and foreboding statements of human progress on the planet.

Showroom Cinema

I am a bit of a film buff, and although the arrival of small children has made visits to see my kind of films less frequent, I still savour the thought of getting down to the relaxed comfort and style of the Showroom to watch a slightly more off-beat film, followed by a beer or two at the bar afterwards. For the moment I spend most of my trips to the mainstream cinema watching children's films, which on the whole are very watchable, but I need more than a bunch of hyperactive talking animals on a life-or-death quest to get my film fix.

My Own Garden

We have a gorgeous long south facing garden, landscaped and populated with trees, bushes and some exotic plants by a previous owner. We put in a vegetable patch at the bottom and a greenhouse, and while only being able to dabble at the Good Life game at the moment I get tremendous pleasure from sowing, growing and eating our own produce. Cutting the grass and long hedges is a love-hate thing – I love the smell of freshly cut grass, I hate clearing up hedge clippings. It's very satisfying though to look out on a neatly trimmed garden, which probably says a lot about me in fact.
How many other similar buildings still hold such memories and secrets of the past? This one is now a Grade II listed building of 'international importance' and has undergone a sympathetic refurbishment into an attractive mixed use work/living space.

Gripple Spider

The industrial area of the Lower Don Valley is not the most attractive – perhaps only to architects and historians – and it sometimes feels like a ghost town. But here I get a sense of Sheffield's great industrial history and pride as you drive along Brightside Lane. One fine red brick factory building on Savile Street East, known as The Old West Gun Works is brought to life by a giant shiny steel web and spider pinned to the gable end wall. A few more of these at other old factories would create an interesting sculpture trail through Sheffield's industrial heritage.

View over Sheffield from Ringinglow Road

There are fabulous views over Sheffield from the top of Ringinglow Road. I'm fit enough now to make the run from home up to the Norfolk Arms, and I run around Castle Dyke and Whirlow trails regularly. The sense of space the views provide is utterly relaxing on the eyes and mind, which balances the stress I'm putting the rest of my body through. On a clear day I love to spot on the horizon the billowing white smoke from the cooling towers of Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax power stations 30 miles away. They seem to make both impressive and foreboding statements of human progress on the planet.

Showroom Cinema

I am a bit of a film buff, and although the arrival of small children has made visits to see my kind of films less frequent, I still savour the thought of getting down to the relaxed comfort and style of the Showroom to watch a slightly more off-beat film, followed by a beer or two at the bar afterwards. For the moment I spend most of my trips to the mainstream cinema watching children's films, which on the whole are very watchable, but I need more than a bunch of hyperactive talking animals on a life-or-death quest to get my film fix.

My Own Garden

We have a gorgeous long south facing garden, landscaped and populated with trees, bushes and some exotic plants by a previous owner. We put in a vegetable patch at the bottom and a greenhouse, and while only being able to dabble at the Good Life game at the moment I get tremendous pleasure from sowing, growing and eating our own produce. Cutting the grass and long hedges is a love-hate thing – I love the smell of freshly cut grass, I hate clearing up hedge clippings. It's very satisfying though to look out on a neatly trimmed garden, which probably says a lot about me in fact.