Two well-known local faces have lent their support to an ongoing drive to develop an innovative centre for people with life-limiting illnesses after becoming patrons of the charity behind the campaign.

Professor Sir Patrick Bateson, FRS, and Lois Hunt, have both agreed to become patrons of Halesworth Community Nursing Care Fund (HCNCF). They have given their support to the charity after learning of its ongoing campaign to raise £714,000 to build a new Information and Support Centre (ISC) for people with life limiting illnesses and their families.

The centre aims to bring a full range of holistic services closer to home for people in north east Suffolk and south Norfolk , including benefits advice, wig-fitting, complementary therapies, help understanding a diagnosis, counselling and bereavement support.

Patrick Bateson was Professor of Ethology, the biological study of behaviour, at the University of Cambridge between 1984 and 2005. Former Director of the Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge and later Head of the Zoology Department, he has also served as President of the Zoological Society of London.

He was knighted in 2003 and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, from 1988 to 2003, after which he moved to Halesworth with his wife Dusha.

“I am interested in the HCNCF because Halesworth has an aging population, with many of its residents worried about their declining health,” said Professor Bateson. “The town is also poorly supplied with the kind of help people need and appreciate and is a long way from major medical centres. That is why I have agreed to act as a patron of HCNCF.”

Lois moved to Heveningham Hall with her husband and four children more 20 years ago, and has since restored the house and gardens while becoming more and more involved with the local community.

Together with representatives from the villages of Heveningham, Huntingfield, Cookley, Cratfield and Walpole, Lois started the Heveningham Hall Country Fair. Together with an annual firework displays and recent Christmas market and Santa run, the event has now raised well over £500,000 for local charities, including £30,000 for HCNCF.

“I wanted to become involved with HCNCF having experienced the amazing support and care that a close friend received when she had great need,” said Lois, who is director and owner of Halesworth Golf Club, which has donated a bus to Halesworth Community Transport for local use.

“I’ve also seen what an essential and very welcome service it provides within the community.”

Ted Edwards, ISC chairman, said: “We are delighted that Pat and Lois have so kindly agreed to become patrons of our charity. Their support means a great deal to us, and will give our campaign a further boost as we edge ever closer to our £714,000 target.

“Our fundraising is now just past the 60% mark, with £445,068 in the kitty. This means our vision of creating this valuable centre for our local community is now one step closer to becoming a reality.”

For more information about the ISC project, or to make a donation, visit www.halesworthhealth.org/information-and-support-centre

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