Addenbrooke's has welcomed news that planning permission has been granted for a purpose-built cancer support centre near the hospital.
The new Maggie’s centre, which will provide expert support for people with cancer, and their family and friends, will be built near Bright Horizons Day Nursery and Preschool, off Robinson Way and replace the current facility which has been elsewhere on the hospital site since 2012.
Director of Cancer Services at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Hugo Ford, said:
We are absolutely delighted to learn of Maggie’s wonderful news, and would like to wish them every success with the new centre, and thank them for the years of fantastic support they have given this Trust and our patients. We know that Maggie’s makes a huge contribution to our patients’ wellbeing, and this new centre will enable them to enhance the care they give even further
Dr Hugo Ford
The centre, designed by Níall McLaughlin (opens in a new tab) Architects (opens in a new tab), will include a warm and welcoming kitchen area, a winter garden, rooms for one-to-one support and larger spaces for groups such as exercise classes.
The design aims to engage with the existing woodland, and features a garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. Maggie’s believes that gardens and outdoor spaces play a vital role in improving physical and mental health and wellbeing.
In 2024 the centre supported people nearly 10,000 times. It is anticipated that the new one could triple those figures.
Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee said:
We are delighted to have planning permission to build our new purpose-built Maggie’s in Cambridge.
We have worked closely with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for many years to ensure people with cancer across the Cambridgeshire area, as well as their loved ones, have had free expert support at our interim centre. It is wonderful to now be a step closer to building a centre designed with people living with cancer in mind.
Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee
Lisa Punt, Centre Head of Maggie’s Cambridge, added:
We have supported a lot of people from our former hospital staff residences, but it will be brilliant to have more room to offer a larger programme of support and reach more people living with cancer. To have a garden where people can simply sit and decompress will be a wonderful addition.”
Lisa Punt
Níall McLaughlin said:
It is wonderful to receive the news of the approved planning permission for the new Maggie's Centre in Cambridge. This exceptional organisation deserves a thoughtfully designed and inspirational setting, and we believe that the proposed building and landscape will do much to complement the care and support provided by the centre's remarkable staff.
We are honoured to be a part of the team helping Maggie's to deliver their vision.
Níall McLaughlin
Since Maggie’s opened its first centre in 1996, the charity has developed a programme of support that is proven to help people with cancer, as well as family and friends, take back control. There are now 24 centres across the UK.
Maggie’s expert staff include psychologists, cancer support specialists and benefits advisors, and the majority of funding comes from voluntary donations.
To find out more a visi Maggie’s (opens in a new tab)