Children's hospice plans move to £3.5m new home

Zoe's Place Baby Hospice has launched an appeal to help raise £3.5m for a new home

Liverpool's specialist baby hospice is hoping to raise millions of pounds to create a new state-of-the-art home.

Zoe's Place Baby Hospice has launched an appeal to help raise £3.5m to develop a new headquarters in the city.

A planning application been submitted to Liverpool Council for the facility in Hayman's Green in West Derby.

Capital Appeal Lead, Aimee Clare said it was a "vital" service for local families.

For almost three decades, Zoe's Place has supported babies and children aged up to five-years-old with life-limiting and complex conditions.

The new facility is planned for Hayman's Green, West Derby

The lease on its current base on Yew Tree Lane will expire next year.

"Zoe's Place Baby Hospice is an incredibly special place, providing specialist and essential care to our babies and their families at a time when they need it the most," Ms Clare said.

"It's a place of happiness and relief and is a true lifeline for those who need it, allowing families to be together and experience the joy of childhood, which can easily be taken for granted by many of us."

She said a new home would help the charity to "continue to provide outstanding and specialist care and support to the children and families who really need us".

Stephanie Perry (centre) said Zoe's Place was a 'lifesaver' for her family

Stephanie Perry, whose two-year-old daughter Robyn has Spina Bifida and Kyphosis, said Zoe's Place "felt like home as soon as we walked in".

"I don't trust many people with [Robyn] because of the needs that she's got, and it was hard leaving her at first," she said.

"But I did, and it was the best thing ever.

"It's amazing for her, she loves it, she gets to play and do sensory - everything that keeps her stimulated, and gives me time with my other kids."