Hospice of St Francis conclude property transactions

Property consultants, Aitchison Raffety, have just concluded a major property transaction for The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, Herts, the fifth busiest hospice in Britain.

Dating back to 1999, Aitchison Raffety has worked with the hospice identifying a suitable site for the construction of a new building for relocation, advising on planning issues and acquisition. The practice also advised the hospice on obtaining planning permission for 16 flats and the resultant sale of the existing buildings.

Each stage produced its own challenges. “Finding a suitable location at an affordable cost was probably the most demanding” said Neil Aitchison of Aitchison Raffety. “Over 40 sites were identified but Dacorum Borough Council officers did not agree initially that the hospice was a special case and wanted the hospice to move to a costly and unsuitable development site. The site eventually selected was a brown-field site but still within the Green Belt which necessitated the commissioning of an environmental report. Fortunately, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister agreed that this was a special case and sanctioned the grant of planning permission.”

The new building comprises 26,000 sq ft and is set in a six acre plot off Shootersway on the southern edge of Berkhamsted, close to the A41. It opened to patients on 22 January 2007. The Hospice of St Francis has been able to increase the number of beds it can offer from 8 to 14 as well as incorporate much improved space and facilities for day patients and visitors, doctors and nursing staff. The new hospice is now able to offer improved facilities for counselling, education and training and space to expand all areas of services the hospice provides.

The sale of the former hospice site was managed under Charity Commission guidelines. Over 30 bids by tender were received, the successful bid coming from Matthew Homes.

In addition to acting for the Hospice of St Francis, Aitchison Raffety and its residential division, Aitchisons, have been active in fundraising for the new building and raised over £25,000 for the special ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign, obtained donations from others and directly donated funds as well as waiving normal consultancy fees.