Maggie's cancer centre opens

Maggie's opening ceremony, from left, Sir Norman Stoller, Oldham Mayo Shadab Qumer Mayoress Sobia Arshi, Laura Lee (Maggie's chief executive), Lucy Steed-Fassett, Charles Jencks and architect Alex de Rijke

Support for those affected by cancer is now available closer to Rochdale as the innovative and impressively designed Maggie's, within the grounds of the Royal Oldham Hospital, opened its doors for the first time on Friday.

Guests gathered for the opening ceremony, which saw the centre officially named Maggie's Oldham: The Sir Norman Stoller Building in honour of Sir Norman and The Stoller Charitable Trust, whose generous donation funded the building of the centre.

The new centre, which is open from Monday (12 June) to members of the public was designed by acclaimed architect's dRMM and was developed by Maggie's working in partnership with The Pennine Acute Trust to enhance the cancer care and support already on offer.

Laura Lee, Maggie's chief executive said; "I'm delighted that today marks the official opening of Maggie's Oldham, allowing us to extend the support we offer across Greater Manchester. My sincere thanks go to everyone who has supported Maggie's and made our centre at The Royal Oldham a reality.

"It has been a real joy to watch the centre come to life and for that I would like to thank Alex de Rijke of dRMM Architects for his beautiful and thoughtful design and to his team who have been instrumental in creating such an uplifting and calming space.

"My very special thanks go to Sir Norman Stoller whose generous donation enabled us to fund the building of the Centre in full and whose passion for Oldham has been the driving force behind the Centre. Thanks to Sir Norman Stoller Maggie's can now offer the local community the very best support to cope with the challenges that living with and beyond cancer can bring."