Hospice hopes to expand after opponents halt plans for move

St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield announced a scheme in 2007 which would have relocated services to a purpose-built centre at the former Norton Nurseries on the edge of the city’s Graves Park.

But the scheme met with furious opposition from some sections of the community, with protests over the development’s effect on the park as well as traffic and safety issues being raised.

By 2008, Sheffield Council had agreed to support the move, but when the Liberal Democrats took over in May that year, their leader Councillor Paul Scriven said he was throwing out the proposal.

Coun Scriven offered to help the hospice’s trustees find an alternative council-owned site and the disused Bluestones School site in the Norfolk Park area of the city was earmarked for the project.

Planning consultants were appointed to draw up plans for the 4.7-acre site, and a 250-year lease agreement was drawn up which would have seen the hospice pay the council around £40,000 a year in rent.

But that scheme also hit trouble in September last year, after trustees revealed a series of financial issues which led to a contraction of services and job losses to balance the charity’s books.

At the time, the hospice’s chief executive Peter Hartland said finances had been running at a deficit for two years, a situation which “could not continue” in the face of possible funding cuts.

Mr Hartland announced redundancies and a reduction in the number of beds it has for end-of-life care from 24 to 20 and confirmed that any move from the current site was to be completely scrapped.

However, the trust behind the hospice has now announced an new expansion scheme for its current site in Little Common Lane, Whirlow, which will create 20 new beds for patients requiring its services.

A planning application has been submitted to Sheffield Council which asks for permission to demolish an administrative building to make way for a new block for patient accommodation.

The new block will provide an extension to and refurbishment of the hospice’s existing in-patient unit, creating 14 single rooms with en-suite facilities and two triple occupancy rooms.

A new plant room, mortuary facilities, sub-station, generator housing and associated landscaping are also included in the blueprint, and neighbours are already being consulted on the scheme.

Speaking about the hospice’s latest plans yesterday, Mr Hartland said: “Our intention is to provide the optimum configuration both for patient care and operational efficiency.

“Single rooms give dignity and privacy for both patients and their families and they also help in areas such as infection control.

“We have already held consultation events for our neighbours and they know of our intentions so that, even at this very early stage, we have an awareness of any potential issues.”

The hospice said the new project was an “affordable alternative” compared to previous relocation projects, but said because plans were still being drawn no figure on the project’s cost was available.

St Luke’s is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and has launched a fundraising campaign to tie in with the milestone in a bid to combat the effects of the recession and funding cuts.

Earlier this year Mr Hartland said the falling value of property had reduced the value of legacies and low interest rates had led to a reduction in income from investments.

He also said that cuts in public funding from NHS Sheffield had led to a severe squeeze on the charity’s books, with the real value of NHS funding declining from covering 41 per cent of costs in 2003 to around 30 per cent in 2010.

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