Planning permission has been granted for a £710,000 resource centre in Halesworth which will provide information and support to people with life-limiting illnesses.

Halesworth Community Nursing Care Fund (HCNCF) has been has been given permission for the single storey building, on land next to Cutlers Hill Surgery, by Waveney District Council.

Once complete, the building – which will be called the Pear Tree Centre – will include space for local support groups to meet, a counselling room, small library and a comfortable area where people can relax and chat informally. A therapy room, where patients can receive complementary treatments such as reiki and massage, will also be included, along with a landscaped garden.

The building was originally granted planning permission in November 2016, but a change in the shape of the plot of land available to the charity meant the proposal needed to be revised.

Rachel Booth, co-chairman of the Pear Tree Centre project, said: “We are really pleased that we have secured planning permission for our revised scheme. It marks the start of the next phase of this exciting project and brings our dream of creating this important centre one step closer to becoming a reality.

“The next stage will be to begin a tender process and appoint a contractor to complete the building work.

“Once more, our thanks go to everyone who has so generously supported our fundraising drive. The Pear Tree Centre will be a really valuable facility and we hope it will benefit thousands of people living in the rural areas surrounding Halesworth.”

The new scheme has seen the same internal layout retained, with a new access road added and changes made to the position of the building and the car park.

The centre will be available to anyone from north east Suffolk or south Norfolk with cancer or other life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families and carers. As well as help understanding a diagnosis, it will also offer family services, a raft of information and practical advice on finance, benefits and coping with bereavement.

The project has been made possible thanks to a successful fundraising drive which has been well-supported by the community.

For more information about the project, or to make a donation to help with the centre’s running costs, visit www.halesworthhealth.org/information-and-support-centre