Approval of £15m hospice a 'landmark moment'

Judi Newman, chief executive of St Elizabeth Hospice, has welcomed the approval of plans for a new hospice in Gorleston

Construction of a £15m town hospice has finally been given the green light 18 years after a fundraising campaign was launched.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council has approved plans for an end-of-life care facility in Gorleston, Norfolk, to be built by the Suffolk-based St Elizabeth Hospice charity.

The 16-bed facility is set to be built off Sidegate Road and will include an outpatient and community hub for day care patients and therapy services, a base for local hospice staff and a community cafe.

St Elizabeth Hospice chief executive Judi Newman said: "This news is a real landmark moment and we can now move forward with making our vision for a community hospice a reality."

Yare Hospice Care began fundraising in 2007 and changed its name to East Coast Hospice two years later, securing initial planning permission for the site in 2012.

The organisation eventually merged with Ipswich-based St Elizabeth Hospice in 2023, which provides care in Suffolk as well as Great Yarmouth and Waveney, including palliative care at Beccles Hospital.

Revamped plans were submitted in June that included extra floor space, six more bedrooms and 97 more parking spaces – increasing the total to 150.

St Elizabeth Hospice will have a 16-bed inpatient unit at the Gorleston facility

The charity hoped to commence construction in 2026, estimating the build would take about 18 months to two years to complete.

There had previously been plans for a hospice to be built at the Louise Hamilton Cancer Centre at the James Paget University Hospital, just north of the site.

However, the NHS withdrew those plans and the Louise Hamilton Trust has partnered with St Elizabeth Hospice for the multimillion-pound project.

The charity is due to launch an appeal to continue building funds, but has already been boosted by receiving £1m in government funding this year.

Ms Newman added: "We extend our thanks to the local community and stakeholders whose insights have shaped our plans. Together, we are working towards greater parity in palliative and end-of-life care for the area."