The foundations for the first-ever adult hospice in Walsall will be laid next week marking the end of a 20-year campaign for the health complex.

A construction team will begin its work on the £5.5 million Walsall Hospice which is expected to take 12 months to be completed. Building experts have been on site since the start of November to carry out preparation work ahead of the multi-million pound scheme.

The work on the palliative care centre, which is being built on the old Goscote Hospital site in Goscote Lane, comes after a number of delays.

It had been hoped to begin in May but contracts with the Healthcare Improvement Partnership were only agreed last month.

It comes as a major boost to campaigners who have fought for more than two decades for a hospice for adults in the borough.

Gill Gregg, palliative care centre project leader for NHS Walsall, said: “We are really excited that the building work has begun and we are stepping closer to making our dream a reality.

“I would like to thank the residents of Walsall for their continued support and look forward to providing them with a centre of excellence in return.”

The development includes rehabilitation and specialist nursing with Macmillan bereavement and counselling services.

The palliative care centre will have 12 inpatient beds and a day hospice for 20 patients and outpatients.

Currently patients travel to St Giles Hospice, near Lichfield, or Compton Hospice, Wolverhampton.

However, around £1.5 million of funding is needed to help equip the hospice with the first-class facilities it needs.

Some 1,000 people descended on Walsall Arboretum in September for the inaugural Starlight Walk event in a bid to raise £20,000 towards the running costs. Streetly songbird Connie Talbot and BBC radio presenter Joanne Malin were among the crowds.