Maggie’s Centre, London, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP), has now received planning permission.

The capital’s first centre is to be situated on a site within the grounds of the Charing Cross NHS Hospital and will offer a range of services and support for patients affected by cancer.  Maggie’s Centres work in conjunction with conventional cancer care, but offer emotional and psychological support and information.  Maggie’s Centres provide a completely free service on a drop in basis.  The charity has always championed good design as a fundamental issue and has targeted high-profile architectural practices to design its buildings.

In response to this aim, the RRP design is both flexible and adaptable.  The building will provide a comfortable, relaxed environment in which patients can access information and seek advice from fellow sufferers and specialist staff.  Richard Rogers, a long term supporter of Maggie’s Centres commented,

“Architecture and art play a vital role in Maggie’s Centre.  I hope to create something that is much more than a support centre, more homely, more welcoming, more comfortable, more thought provoking and more uplifting.”

Maggie’s Centres has launched a campaign to raise the £3.5m needed to build Maggie’s London.  The campaign is being run in association with The Evening Standard, which aims to raise £1m of the total needed.  Many fundraising events are being organised including the Metro Life Hike, in conjunction with Open House.  Hikers will have the unique opportunity to see inside some of the most spectacular buildings in London by night. For more information please visit www.maggiescentres.org/metrolifehike

For more information and to access images of Maggie’s Centre, London, please use related  link opposite

For further information about Maggie’s Centre charity please go to
www.maggiescentres.org

Or alternatively, please contact
Vicky Smith, Press Officer at Richard Rogers Partnership on 0207 746 0411/ vicky.s@rrp.co.uk

Theo Hildebrand, Press Officer at Maggie’s Centre on 0207 385 2706 / theo@maggiescentres.org or london@maggiescentres.org

Notes to editor

Maggie’s London

At any one time 150,000 people in London are living with cancer, with 26,000 new diagnoses annually, 6,000 of these through the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust.  If current trends continue these figures will increase significantly.  Consultants predict that the number of people with cancer will increase, as the population grows older.  At the same time, new treatments mean that more people are living longer, making access to support more crucial than ever before.

Maggie’s aims to offer support to 50% of the new diagnosed cancer cases that come to Hammersmith Hospitals.  Over time we aim to help up to 80 people a day with cancer, open 5 days a week, from 9am to 5pm No appointment is ever necessary. Maggie’s needs £3.5m to start building at the end of 2005 and to cover two year’s running costs.