New Cambridge cancer support centre approved
The new centre will be run by the charity Maggie’s
A new “warm and welcoming” cancer support centre is set to be built in Cambridge.
Plans have been approved to build the new facility in Long Road, on the edge of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The new centre will be run by the charity Maggie’s, which offers free support services to people who have been diagnosed with cancer.
The charity has been running a temporary facility in Cambridge since 2012, based in converted flats in Puddicombe Way.
The plans for the new centre were submitted by the charity and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
The new centre will offer the charity a permanent base to support not only patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, but also cancer patients in the wider community.
The plans said: “Maggie’s provides free expert practical, emotional and psychological support to people with cancer and their family and friends.
“Built in the grounds of NHS hospitals where cancer treatment is delivered, Maggie’s are places where qualified experts provide emotional support; places to find practical information; places to meet other people; and places where people can simply sit quietly with a cup of tea.
“Maggie’s is there for anyone and everyone affected by cancer, offering a programme of support that has been shown to strengthen physical and emotional wellbeing.”
The charity and CUH asked Cambridge City Council for permission to demolish an existing building at 28 Long Road, in order to build the new cancer support centre.
The centre will be a two-storey building with a kitchen, counselling room, dining area, welcome area, staff room, living area and toilets on the ground floor; and a library counselling room, group room, winter garden, exercise room, quiet room, and a toilet on the first floor.
The plans said: “The purpose-built facility would provide people affected by cancer with comforting and inspiring spaces to decompress from the clinical hospital setting, seek support and take part in activities.
“Maggie’s prides itself on delivering exceptional facilities across the country, working with award-winning architects to provide innovative, warm and welcoming spaces.
“No. 28 Long Road has been selected by the Trust and Maggie’s as the optimal location to build a Maggie’s centre for Cambridge.”
Planning documents added that the new support centre would also create a “positive link” to the new specialist cancer hospital which is due to be built at the biomedical campus.
The application was approved by the city council after planning officers said the new facility would offer “health and wellbeing benefits to the community”.
Officers said: “The proposed facility will meet a local need for cancer support services, and provide a significant improvement over the existing Maggie’s facility, which is located within a converted apartment.
“The site is in close proximity to the cancer patients it serves, whilst it will also benefit from being in a location which is separate in character to the clinical environment within the campus proper.”