New Maggie’s cancer support centre approved for Long Road in Cambridge
A new “warm and welcoming” cancer support centre is to be built in Cambridge and will be run by the charity Maggie’s.
The facility in Long Road, on the edge of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, will replace the charity’s ‘temporary’ facility in converted flats in Puddicombe Way, which it has run since 2012.
Maggie’s, which offers free support services to people who have been diagnosed with cancer, submitted the plans with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
The centre will offer a permanent base to support Addenbrooke’s patients and those in the wider community.
In the plans, the charity 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 for the new two-storey centre.
It will feature 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 planning documents noted: “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.”
The documents added that the new support centre would also create a “positive link” to the new specialist cancer hospital due to be built at Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The building was approved after city council planning officers said the new facility would offer “health and wellbeing benefits to the community”.
A report from them 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.”
Visit maggies.org.
