PLAN to build a £15million hospice in Southend have been welcomed by residents as the proposals went out to public consultation.

Interested residents visited the Ekco Social and Sports Club in Thornford Gardens, Southend, to give their thoughts on plans for a new Fair Havens Hospice opposite Priory Park, Southend.

The 16-bedroom hospice will also provide care for 30 visiting patients at a day centre which will provide therapies, physio sessions and craft groups separate from its main lounge.

There will be 90 parking spaces created, including 12 disabled parking bays for patients, their families and staff.

The £15.4million project has been funded by donations and grants from fundraisers and founders of the charity.

A further £2.5million is required to fully fund the project.

The new hospice will replace an ageing facility in Chalkwell Avenue, Westcliff, which is deemed by consultees as no longer suitable.

At the first consultation before a planning application is made to Southend Council this month, Roger Handy, 72, of Manners Way, Southend, said the plans are a sign Havens’ “dream is finally going to be realised” with the revised plans.

He said: “It is a tribute to the fundraisers and it is great for all the people who have contributed money to Havens over the years to see that the dream is finally going to be realised and it is going to be built. Countless people will have the benefit of it.”

The new hospice’s bedrooms will all be on the ground floor to allow patients better access to the lounge, bistro and garden areas.

Sally Nayler, assistant project manager of the new hospice, said the larger hospice will help Havens to treat more people rather than having to place them on the waiting list.

She said: “This hospice is so much bigger and we now have a wellbeing centre we did not have at the previous centre.

“Having therapy rooms dedicated to that is just amazing to have, the craft workshop and physio therapy space have their own room because not everyone wants to be a part of that, sometimes they just want to sit down and read a newspaper.”

Betty Lamprell, 74 of Thornford Gardens, feels the new plans are a “fantastic” change for the hospice.

She also praised the charity’s plans for a ‘hospice at home’ service, where patients would be visited by teams of carers to treat disabled patients.

She said: “It is going to be great to have hospice at home through this hospice. A lot of people care for their loved ones at home and other than trained carers, they could not do half of what people’s families do. It is fantastic to have that service.”