Campaigners raising funds for independent end-of-life care for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston are getting together at the site of their proposed hospice.

East Coast Hospice (ECH) trustees and supporters will gather to celebrate the public launch of the site of Margaret Chadd House, the new hospice they want to build, in Sidegate Road, between Gorleston and Hopton, on Friday.

The charity secured planning permission to build the £4m 10-bed hospice in May last year and hopes to start building work in 2016. The unit would include a specialist palliative day care unit.

Angie Buxton-King, fundraiser for ECH, said: 'Building an independent freestanding hospice will allow us to do what needs to be done for the community of Great Yarmouth and Waveney. We are one of only two remaining areas in the country that does not have its own hospice and Margaret Chadd House will meet a widely recognised need to provide a local hospice for local people.'

ECH said a recent national bereavement survey carried out by VOICES reported that being shown dignity and respect by staff was highest in hospices - 84 per cent 'always' for hospice doctors and 82 per cent for hospice nurses, and lowest in hospitals - 59 per cent 'always' for hospital doctors and 52 per cent for hospital nurses.

The charity completed the purchase of the five acre site between Gorleston and Hopton in September this year.

At the official launch on Friday, publicity boards on the site will be unveiled by East Coast Hospice patrons Dr Patrick Thompson and Helen McDermott. Some 50 guests, including the Mayor of Great Yarmouth Councillor John Burroughs, will then celebrate the milestone with a reception at the Cliff Hotel, Gorleston.