Former Saints chairman's family fund hospice upgrade

Oakhaven has been given planning permission to transform its single-storey in-patient unit (IPU) into a two-and-a-half storey complex containing six extra bedrooms.

The hospice at Lower Pennington Lane in Lymington has also been given the go-ahead to build a two-storey nurse training centre.

A report to New Forest District Council's planning committee recommended members to approve the application, despite Oakhaven's greenbelt location.

Money donated by the family of former Saints chairman Leon Crouch will help fund improvements to Oakhaven Hospice (Image: Newsquest)

The report said: "A set of very special circumstances exist which justify what would otherwise be inappropriate development within the greenbelt.

“The proposal would be beneficial in providing improved facilities for an important and unique care facility within the district."

READ MORE: Oakhaven Hospice to receive £850k from the family of former Saints chairman Leon Crouch

Mr Crouch was an Oakhaven patient who died aged 70 in 2019 after a short battle with cancer.

The Lymington businessman was a lifelong Saints fan who paid around £1.6m to buy a major stake in the club in 2006. The following year he became acting chairman and then chairman, serving until the end of the 2007/08 season.

As reported in the Daily Echo, he and his family made a series of donations to Oakhaven.

Oakhaven Hospice in Lower Pennington Lane, Lymington, has been serving the New Forest area since the 1990s (Image: Newsquest)

In a statement issued after the council meeting, the hospice said a "large proportion" of the money needed to finance the proposed upgrade had already been secured.

The sum raised included £900,000 that had been donated by Mr Crouch's family to fund extra beds.

READ MORE: Oakhaven seeks consent to expand in-patient unit as part of major upgrade

Andrew Ryde, Oakhaven's chief executive, said: "Demand for our services continues to grow every year and this application will provide us with the ability to expand our services in line with demand, if required.

“There is no immediate plan to start developing the site. Only when our annual day-to-day running costs are financially secure would any development commence.

"Furthermore, it is proposed that the additional in-patient beds are nurse-led rather than consultant-led and therefore running costs are likely to be met by the NHS, rather than adding to our annual costs.

“Right now, our focus is on ensuring financial security and sustainability for current activity levels.

"The challenges of fundraising 89 per cent of our annual running costs remain, and we are grateful for every donation, every gift left to Oakhaven in a will, every purchase and donation at our charity shops and, of course, to everyone who helps us fundraise."

Mr Ryde said the UK's independent hospice sector was facing a total deficit this year of £77m.