Boost as charity gains planning permission for £8m children's facility

An Aberdeen-based charity has gained planning permission for a major new facility in the city.

Charlie House plans to build a specialist support centre - to help babies, children and young people with complex disabilities and life-limiting conditions - in the grounds of Woodend Hospital.

It will boast eight bedrooms, with additional family accommodation, set in four acres of ground.

The building will also feature a sensory room, library, spa pool, craft room, teen den, soft play area, therapy room, star room - for end-of-life care and bereavement- outdoor play area and sensory gardens, as well as adaptable meeting space and office space for the Charlie House team and medical staff.

The build will be the first of its kind in the north-east, with families currently having to travel over 100 miles to Kinross to access planned and emergency short breaks, palliative and end-of-life care.

The charity launched its fundraising campaign to support the build in November 2018 and to date has raised £2.4 million of its target of £8m. The receipt of planning permission will now allow the charity to apply for additional grant funding.

Tracy Johnstone, chair of Charlie House, said: "This is an incredible day for the charity and the team. We are so passionate about bringing this centre to the city and today we came a huge step closer.

"The state-of-the-art specialist support centre will be the first of its kind in the region to offer these support services to the people of the north-east of Scotland encompassing the Aberdeen city and the shire, Moray, Orkney and Shetland."

David MacDonald from Cumming & Co, the project architects, said: "We are delighted to support Charlie House with this inspiring project. We are looking forward to watching the build unfold and this remarkable vision come to life."

More information on the project is available here.

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