Zoe’s Place Receives £2.5 Million Commitment as Closure Threat Looms

A Liverpool-based company has committed £2.5 million to support baby hospice Zoe’s Place, which was at risk of closure. Earlier this month, the charity – which also operates hospices in Middleborough and Coventry – announced it had 30 days to raise sufficient funds to build a new Liverpool facility, as the lease on its current site was set to expire. TJ Morris Ltd, a Liverpool-based retailer trading as Home Bargains, has pledged half of the £5 million the charity stated it needed to raise by November 9 to maintain a hospice in Liverpool. Zoe’s Place executive trustee Joan Stainsby said: “As a charity, we are immensely grateful to Home Bargains for standing by us in our time of need.” A public fundraising campaign had already generated a significant amount of money for the new facility, prompting the charity to establish a separate board of trustees for its Liverpool center. Independent MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne, who was involved in the campaign, said: “This is unbelievable news and what an example of Liverpool coming together.” He added: “A huge thanks to Home Bargains for their generosity in helping us to take a huge step forward to secure a bright future for Zoe’s Place Liverpool.” The lease for the charity’s site on Yew Tree Lane is scheduled to expire in June 2025. In a statement, Zoe’s Place indicated that the donation had reinforced “the community’s commitment to ensure the baby hospice continues to provide vital support for children with life-limiting conditions and their families for many years to come”. Summa Gill, the charity’s head of marketing, stated that approximately £1 million remained to be raised. Regarding the latest donation, she said: “It’s just given us so much hope which was so needed.” Planning permission has already been approved for the new hospice on the former bowling green and Victorian villa at Hayman’s Green, in West Derby. However, the hospice reported that the cost of building a new facility had escalated from the original estimate of £3.5 million to in excess of £5 million.