Building work on a valuable resource centre for people from north east Suffolk and south Norfolk with life-limiting illnesses is set to start after Halesworth Community Nursing Care Fund (HCNCF) secured planning permission for the £710,000 project.
The charity was given permission for the single storey build, on land next to Cutlers Hill Surgery in Halesworth, by Waveney District Council last week. It comes after HCNCF hit its fundraising target following a generous £55,605 pledge from the Patrick Stead Hospital League of Friends.
Once complete, the building will include space for local support groups to meet, a counselling room, small library and a comfortable area where people can relax and chat informally, with sliding glass doors leading to a landscaped garden. A therapy room, where patients can receive complementary treatments such as Reiki and massage, will also be included.
Anyone from north east Suffolk or south Norfolk with cancer or other life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families and carers, will be welcome to use the centre. As well as help understanding a diagnosis, it will also offer family services, a raft of information and practical advice on finance, benefits and coping with bereavement.
It is hoped that building work will begin early in 2017 and be complete by the end of the year, with the centre opening in early 2018.
Ted Edwards, ISC chairman, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we have secured planning permission. It marks the start of the next phase of this exciting project, and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our trustees and fundraisers.
“We are really looking forward to starting work on construction, and watching the building take shape over the coming months. It fantastic that we are now one step closer to providing this valuable facility for people living in the rural areas surrounding Halesworth.”
For more information about the project, or to make a donation to help with the centre’s running costs, visit www.halesworthhealth.org/information-and-support-centre
