Charity aims to raise £3m to help fund new hospice

Work started on the site earlier in May

A charity in Surrey is trying to raise the final £3m needed to develop its new hospice.

The new site in Farnham is set to enable Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care to provide more supportive and end of life care for people across west Surrey and north-east Hampshire.

The charity hopes the new hospice will be fully operational on the site of its former demolished building by January 2026.

Chief executive Sarah Church said: "As demand increases, this new chapter in our history means we will be able to care for many more thousands of local residents who will need us in the years to come.”

The total project cost, including temporary renting, is £17.5m.

Of this amount the charity is putting in £11.5m of reserves and has added £3m from charitable trusts.

A Phyllis Tuckwell spokesperson said its old building in Farnham was not fit for purpose.

The new hospice will include an in-patient unit with 18 single ensuite rooms, wellbeing, exercise and education suites, therapy rooms and outpatient facilities.

The hospice, which currently looks after about 2,000 patients a year, is expecting a 40% increase in demand by 2040.

A time capsule, which contains a letter to the future president and local farewell messages from when the site was vacated in the summer of 2023, will be buried in the new courtyard garden.