Children's hospice gets approval

Work is expected to start on the development later in 2004

The Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice has been granted planning permission - ending a four-year wait for supporters.

Councillors in Rotherham gave their seal of approval for the plans at a meeting on Thursday.

The hospice will be built at a site near the M1 in Dinnington after the original application for St Catherine's Hospital in Balby was rejected.

Roger Stone, leader of the council, said he was delighted to welcome the hospice to Rotherham.

We have been dancing, we have been singing, we have been jumping for joy Sharon Needham, director of fundraising

"We are very proud that the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice has been able to find a suitable home at Dinnington, which has excellent motorway links," he said.

"Thanks to the hard work by our planning officers on the application, Rotherham will now be able to provide vital and much-needed care to a very special group of children not only in Rotherham and South Yorkshire but across the region."

The hospice will serve the NHS North Trent region which ranges from Barnsley in the north to Mansfield in the south.

Bluebell Wood trustees decided on the former tip at Dinnington after a search of more than 30 different sites in South Yorkshire.

Long wait

Sharon Needham, director of fundraising, said supporters of the hospice were absolutely delighted by the news.

"We have waited so long and especially after the disappointment back in January when the plans were rejected by Doncaster this is even sweeter," she said.

"We have been dancing, we have been singing, we have been jumping for joy. There has not been a lot of work done today because we have been dancing on the desks - its just great."

Work on the development is expected to start later in 2004.