An Act of Dedication, conducted by the Bishop of Ely, took place at the start of this week, to mark construction work starting in earnest on a new £10.5 million hospice for Cambridge.
The 24-bed facility for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity will be an exemplar in hospice design and when completed in the autumn of 2016 will offer patients a more spacious, attractive and therapeutic environment with better facilities and increased service capacity.
The event was attended by over 50 people and comprised of representatives of all faiths and indeed no faith and guests were invited to enjoy refreshments afterwards. Guests also included Sir Hugh Duberly KCVO, CBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and Patron of the new hospice appeal, Stuart Evans, Chair of Trustees, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, William Barnes, Chairman, Barnes Construction and Louise Knights, LSI Architects.
Lynn Morgan, Chief Executive for the charity said: “The Act of Dedication was a special occasion for the charity, as we pride ourselves on delivering excellent care regardless of religion, background or wealth. Our services are completely free of charge to those who require them and we hope this act will further illustrate that our care is accessible to people in all walks of life throughout Cambridgeshire.”
The event took place in front of where steelwork is now being installed, giving the first physical indication of the scale of the new hospice and its position within the site. Designed by LSI Architects, the hospice will be built by Barnes Construction which has won awards for its work on local projects such as the graduate accommodation building at Leckhampton for Corpus Christ College and the new East Anglian Children’s Hospice in Ipswich. Two Cambridge-based businesses form part of the construction team. Northmore Associates is the client project manager and Munro Building Services will be carrying out the mechanical and electrical work for the contract.
The building is expected to be watertight by the end of the year, with the project completed and the hospice opening to patients in autumn 2016.
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