“IT’S the beginning of something incredible” – that was the reaction of one of the key figures behind the creation of a new cancer centre to the formal announcement of its location.

Consultant surgeon and HHFT clinical director of surgery Merv Rees, who has been leading the Ark Cancer Centre campaign, is delighted the project can really move forward.

He said: “It has been a long journey to get to this point, as we needed to co-locate with the Critical Treatment Hospital.

“I am so pleased that we have this location and we are now able to make this announcement. Any other location would have felt like a compromise.”

Mr Rees said that the ease of access to the cancer centre by road, and its central location for patients across the area served by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was a major factor in choosing the North Waltham site.

He added: “We want to put patients and their families at the heart of this centre, and we want the centre to be inspiring.

“Now, we can really begin to move – it is the beginning of something incredible.”

As previously reported in The Gazette – which has backed the cancer centre campaign from the outset – the centre will make a massive difference to thousands of cancer patients from Basingstoke, who currently endure 60-mile, and often daily, round trips to Southampton or Guildford over several weeks to receive treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

An interim radiotherapy unit was recently opened at Basingstoke hospital, and equipment will be transferred to the new centre when that opens. The centre will offer vital treatments such as radiotherapy alongside palliative care and general support, including hair care, beauty treatments and financial and employment advice.

The timescale for the build is in line with the Critical Treatment Hospital, and it is hoped that it will be open to patients by 2019.

The Ark Cancer Centre Charity is raising £5million towards the cost of the centre, to “give it the wow factor”, Mr Rees said.

He added: “We have raised £500,000 so far. This is a fantastic project, and for people who want to make a difference, this is the time to get on board with this project.

“This is something that will directly help so many people locally – cancer patients and their families.”

Plans for how the cancer centre will look, which will be inspired by feedback from local patient groups, will be available when a planning application is lodged with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

  • The Ark Cancer Centre Charity has appointed Mark Jones as its director of fundraising and communications. Mr Jones, who has been editor of Gazette Newspapers for nearly 13 years, will join the team early in the new year.