Building work begins on new mental health centre in Gleadless Valley

8 October 2025

Work has officially begun on a pioneering new mental health centre in Gleadless Valley, marking a major milestone in a national pilot programme aimed at transforming mental health care in communities.

The development follows an extensive process of coproduction and community engagement, involving service users, local residents, and partners from across Sheffield. These include Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SHPU), Heeley Plus Primary Care Network, Heeley Trust, Rethink Mental Illness, Synergy VCSE Mental Health Alliance, Sheffield Flourish and Sheffield City Council.

Due for completion in Spring 2026, the site will include a revamped Terry Wright Community Hall, a refreshed Newfield Green Library, and a new 24/7 mental health centre offering integrated, person-centred support for adults over 18 who have a serious mental illness.

The centre will provide the right care at the right time, closer to home, with a strong focus on prevention and early intervention. It will offer a safe, welcoming space for people to access support before reaching crisis point, helping to reduce the need for inpatient admissions. The centre will be open for anyone in the Gleadless and Heeley area. 

As part of the pilot, the hub will also include safe-space hospitality beds, offering an alternative to hospital-based care. The aim is to simplify access, reduce traditional referral pathways, and ensure people can connect with existing mental health teams more easily.

About the project

This project is co-produced, meaning people with lived experience have been involved throughout and have shaped services, attended engagement events, and played a part in decision-making. The centre will also work to improve access for ethnically diverse and under-represented communities, with a target to achieve this by September 2026.

We’ve made sure that community groups using the Terry Wright community Hall have somewhere else to go while the building work takes place. 

The pilot is designed to foster long-term, trusting relationships between patients and staff, ensuring continuity of care whether someone is at home or in crisis. It will also support personalised care planning.

This initiative is part of a national pilot. If successful, it could pave the way for similar centres across Sheffield and England, offering scalable, community-based mental health support. The programme will be independently evaluated.

We will continue to share updates as building work progresses. Check out our social media channels to stay up to date with how the work is going. 

James Drury, director of strategy at SHPU, said: “This is a major step forward in how we support people with serious mental illness in Sheffield. By working together with our communities, we’re building an innovative place where people can get the help they need, when they need it, in a space that feels safe and familiar.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with our partners over the coming weeks as we get ready to launch a new service that I truly believe will have a hugely beneficial impact to people living in Gleadless and Heeley.”

Lara Joyce, from Gleadless Valley Tenants and Residents Association (GV TARA), said: "On behalf of the GV TARA I’m delighted that we’ve taken this step to deliver an extremely valuable asset to the community in Newfield Green. While the new neighbourhood mental health centre will provide a new mental health support service for people in the area, I’m proud of how the partnership has worked with local people like me to make sure that updates and renovations to the Terry Wright Community Hall and Newfield Green Library fit their needs and have been community led. I’m really looking forward to seeing the centre develop over the coming weeks."