Martin House: Gareth Southgate visits Leeds children's hospice to launch its biggest project yet

Martin House Hospice, located in Boston Spa, Wetherby, provides specialist palliative care to children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses, and has today launched its largest fundraising appeal to date.

The charity’s ambassador and manager of England’s national football team, Gareth Southgate, launched the campaign’s Public Appeal, breaking ground on its ambitious new project, ‘THE BUILD’.

The hospice is urging the public to donate towards its £2 million target by the September 2025 deadline.

Gareth Southgate, said: “Living locally to the hospice, I have supported and worked closely with Martin House for two years now and I admire the work they do for the local community, children and families across Yorkshire and beyond.

“The hospice is a lifeline for local families, and it really does transform the lives of young people with life-limiting illnesses every single day.

“THE BUILD project shows Martin House’s ongoing commitment to challenging, improving and investing in family-led care. These improvements will strengthen the hospice’s existing services and guarantee its future, helping to enrich the experience for the entire family.

“It’s so important that we all come together to support the hospice, donating an amount you are comfortable with, to support such an important cause.”

The £21.9 million project, THE BUILD, set to be complete by September 2025 will enable Martin House to continue to support children, young people and their families for many years to come.

These plans have been created in collaboration with the families using the hospice, including the children themselves, to ensure their needs are front and centre of the project.

THE BUILD will consist of two phases: phase 1 being a children's wing and phase 2 comprising a teenager’s wing and wellbeing centre.

Clair Holdsworth, Chief Executive at Martin House, said: “Advancements in clinical research and palliative medicine mean that the needs of children with life-limiting conditions have become ever more complex.

“We need to create a space that is purpose-built and fully accessible with a more flexible offering, to ensure that more families can access the vital care and support on offer, and we need the public’s help to achieve this.”

The children's wing will ensure that whether a family is visiting for respite or end-of-care life, they are given a choice of how they spend their time at Martin House, as well as providing crucial privacy when they need it.

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Purpose-built facilities will include an enchanted forest-themed playroom, an art room, seven hotel-standard parents’ bedrooms, nine en-suite children’s bedrooms with piped oxygen and integrated hoists and a private garden.

Phase two’s teenage wing will improve accessibility across all of Martin House and create a social space for young people, giving them more freedom and independence.

Martin House is set to launch several fundraising events for the public to support THE BUILD, in partnership with Haribo. Sign up to be a supporter, donate and keep updated on the charity’s latest news here: www.martinhouse.org.uk/thebuild.