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Cost of living forces Sutton Coldfield cancer charity from hospice

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Marie Moore, vice-chair of trustees, said the support centre is urgently seeking new Sutton Coldfield premises

A cancer charity is seeking a new base as it cannot afford a rise in rent and energy prices at its current site.

The Cancer Support Centre (CSC) has leased rooms in St Giles Hospice, Sutton Coldfield for 11 years.

The charity said it has been given notice to quit by 17 January after the increases proved "beyond its reach".

Andrew Harkness, CEO of the hospice, said his organisation could not bear cost of living increases alone.

St Giles, which runs a supportive care centre at the Sutton Coldfield site and a main hospice in Whittington, Lichfield, supports people with illnesses such as cancer, motor neurone disease and heart failure.

The CSC, which was founded 21 years ago, offers complementary therapies and wellbeing support to around 500 people affected by cancer diagnoses.

For the past 11 years it had paid its landlord a peppercorn rent and proportional share of running costs, said vice-chair of trustees Marie Moore, but said the suggested increase was "unaffordable".

"If we paid... we wouldn't be able to afford to run the really important services that we deliver to our clients," she said.

Mr Harkness standing in a hospice garden
Andrew Harkness, CEO of St Giles Hospice, said the charity faced tough times due to the impact of Covid

However, Mr Harkness said energy prices and staffing costs had increased "significantly" over the previous 12 months, and organisations offering end-of-life care faced "financial devastation".

"Obviously, in terms of buildings that we run, that's created increased cost pressures for us as an organisation," said Mr Harkness.

"When it's come to the end of the lease, like it has here with cancer support, unfortunately we can't bear all the costs as a charity ourselves."

The charity Hospice UK previously warned sites could go bust as the cost of living crisis deepened.

A man giving acupuncture to a woman lying on a bed
The Cancer Support Centre offers complementary therapies such as acupuncture and reflexology

Ms Moore is now calling for the community's help to identify alternative premises in Sutton Coldfield.

"With the help of our teams, clients, supporters and the public, we hope to end this uncertainty quickly," she said.

Mr Harkness said he hoped to maintain a good working relationship with the CSC.

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