City cancer support centre gets go-ahead

A CANCER centre which will provide practical and emotional support to patients and their families has been given planning permission.

A Maggie’s Centre, which already has a £3m unit in Swansea, will be built on the current Velindre Cancer Centre site in Whitchurch, Cardiff.

The plans were given approval by Cardiff Council last week and the building is set to be completed by autumn 2018.

It will support people in southeast Wales temporarily, with a permanent solution due as part of the multi-million-pound Velindre development, expected to open in 2022.

In June, Health Secretary Vaughan Gething announced funding of £850,000 would be available to build the temporary Maggie’s.

Sarah Beard, business development director at Maggie’s, said: “Maggie’s has been working with Velindre for a number of years to plan the establishment of a centre which will serve the whole population of south-east Wales.

“We are already operational at 21 major cancer centres. This is going to be a fantastic addition.”

Maggie’s Centres are independent but work in partnership with the NHS across the UK and are often found in hospital grounds.

The Cardiff centre will be designed by Dow Jones Architects.

It will be staffed by a professional team and offer drop-in cancer support, stress management, nutritional workshops, benefits advice and relaxation.

Steve Ham, chief executive of Velindre NHS Trust, said: “We’re delighted at the prospect of Maggie’s joining us here at Velindre Cancer Centre.”