PLANS for a new£15.4million hospice are set to be approved.

Planning officers at Southend Council have recommended Havens Hospices’ plans for a new building on land in Priory Crescent be approved.

If it gets the go ahead, the 16-bedroom hospice, day care centre and treatment facilities will be built opposite Priory Park, Southend.

The H-shaped hospice will be a part single storey, part two-storey building. The in-patient wing will have 16 en-suite bedrooms within the single storey western side of the building. Each room will have access to a small private outside space.

The eastern wing constitutes the two storey part of the development with the majority of the out-patient facilities on the ground floor including a bistro, therapy rooms, a gym, lounge, craft workshop, and salon and beauty room. There will also be a communal garden.

A fundraising campaign was launched in May to raise the Fair Havens for Life is the name of the appeal which is aiming to raise the remaining £2.5 million towards the project on the old Ekco site in Prittlewell. A residential development on the site is currently nearing completion.

The existing Fair Havens Hospice on Chalkwell Avenue in Westcliff is no longer fit for purpose, and every month 11 patients have to be turned away because there are not enough suitable rooms available when they need them.

In total 103 parking spaces will be provided, 12 of which will be accessible spaces. A bicycle and motorbike parking area will be provided within the centre of the car park.

In their report to the council’s development control committee, planning officers said: “The proposal is considered to constitute an acceptable design which responds suitably to the specific nature and operational characteristics of the use and would

result in no adverse impact upon the character and appearance of the area. Nor would it adversely impact the amenities of the nearby residential dwellings.”

Havens previously dropped controversial plans for a new hospice on green belt land near Leigh Station and Two Tree Island following a barrage of complaints from residents who feared the development would set a precedent for further development.

Southend councillors will consider the application on Wednesday, August 1.