Cranford Hospice Announces Progress on New Site
Cranford Hospice Announces Progress on New Site
—PRESS RELEASE—
The Cranford Hospice Foundation are excited to announce that they have secured a conditional contract to purchase a new building site.
Following Cyclone Gabrielle and after careful consideration, the Cranford Foundation made the difficult decision to pivot away from the proposed Chesterhope site.
Since the 2023 announcement, not to proceed with Chesterhope, over 40 potential properties have been viewed. Four of these have been progressed, including the subject property. The selection of the new site was made following an in-depth process of assessment, feedback from key stakeholders, staff and advice from Project Managers, Council, Lawyers, Planners, and Engineers.
The Foundation’s Trustees and Building Executive have successfully completed the initial due diligence period and are now progressing with the resource consent. The team are dedicated to ensuring that this will be the ideal site for the future home for Cranford.
“The due diligence to date is looking very positive” says Chris Tremain, Cranford Hospice Foundation Chairman. “We are very excited that this property meets all our requirements The site is a large flat property, with views of Te Mata Peak and due to its location has a minimal flooding risk. Timeframes are a key factor to consider, and this site is a ready to build platform and a blank canvas for us to work with. Importantly, it also allows for future growth of Cranford in years to come”.
The expanding need for specialist palliative care services in Hawke’s Bay is placing additional pressure on the need for a new hospice facility. The project to build a new facility is urgent, and the Cranford Hospice Foundation needs to act quickly and decisively to drive the project forward. Initial feedback from stakeholders, after site viewings, has been very positive, reinforcing the need to proceed.
“We now need to work through the resource consent process before we move to an unconditional contract” says Tremain. “Much of the original planning will be able to be utilised after accounting for the unique features of this site. Clearly the market has moved since we first commenced the project so we need, firstly, to understand what can still be built with our current budget. Regardless, we remain committed to building a Hospice that Hawke’s Bay will be proud of for generations to come”.
Last year with the generosity and support of the community we were able to care for 1101 patients and their families to help us achieve our mission to provide the very best specialist palliative care and bereavement support, with commitment, collaboration and compassion. “We at Cranford Hospice are very excited to be taking this positive step forward. A new home for Cranford is more than bricks and mortar, it is a place where compassion meets dignity for all our community” says Andrew Lesperance, Cranford Hospice CEO.
“The incredible community support has brought the current funds raised for the project to $14.5 million. A truly generous amount. It is your generosity that will bring this vision to reality” says Tremain. “We extend our sincere thanks to our dedicated team and volunteers, who support the community every day”.
