New hoardings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Seacroft Hospital in Leeds bring to life the location of the planned Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, (MND) as the development to build the new centre progresses.
Marking out a space of just under 4,000 m², the location is towards the front of the Seacroft site, close to the ward where the current MND service is delivered by Dr Agam Jung and her team. Following a series of stakeholder sessions with patients and staff, the new centre is currently being designed by architects Corstorphine & Wright, and will be submitted for planning in the New Year.
The hoardings tell just some stories of people’s experiences with MND, including an uplifting message from Rob. A number of those featured are part of ‘7 Stories’, a mobile exhibition launched by Leeds Hospitals Charity in 2022 as part of its fundraising campaign to raise the £6.8m needed for the new centre. Craige Richardson, director of Estates & Facilities, at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said “It’s great to see the new hoardings in place at Seacroft Hospital; our patients, visitors, and staff can really start to feel the momentum growing as we head towards building the new centre next year. We’ve had contractors on site looking at the groundworks this month, and once planning is approved, we’ll be entering a really exciting phase of development. We’re really looking forward to the transformation of Seacroft for our MND community, and also for the rest of its visitors.”
Esther Wakeman, CEO of Leeds Hospitals Charity, added: “I am so pleased to see the new hoardings up at the site for the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital. It now feels that there is a real presence for where the centre will soon be. Those who visit Seacroft can now read stories from the MND community and see how donations are making a difference, creating a centre that will have a positive impact on so many people affected by MND.
“We’re so grateful to the public for getting behind our appeal. It’s thanks to the generosity of people from across Leeds and further afield that we’ve now raised £4.9 million. We hope that Kevin’s next challenge will help give our fundraising a boost, and bring us one step closer to realising Rob’s dream of a specialist centre here in Leeds.”
The hoardings are in place ahead of Kevin Sinfield and his team’s latest challenge, ‘7in7in7’, with the first day re-routed to run past Seacroft Hospital, where his team-mate and inspiration Rob Burrow’s new centre will be built.