A charity’s Christmas wish to start caring for very sick children before the end of the year has been granted ... and the driving force has been Huddersfield’s West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

A desperately-needed children’s hospice in Bury due to open three years ago has finally opened following the Huddersfield takeover and the generosity of the people of Greater Manchester.

Grace’s Place in Radcliffe, Bury, was refurbished at a cost of £1.2m in 2014, including a £507,000 Department of Health grant, but with debts of more then £350,00 and no cash for staff it stood empty.

In July the Huddersfield hospice, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, took it over.

Princess Beatrice on her visit to the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice

The hospice at Brackenhall costs £4m a year to run.

It is estimated around 650 children from Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale, could benefit from a hospice, but currently have to travel up to 30 miles to get support.

Since the takeover the charity has started to thrive with local groups, businesses and individual supporters working to reach its first campaign target of raising £60,000 before Christmas in order to allow them to start offering care through their Hospice at Home service from four nurses.

The charity’s royal patron, HRH Princess Beatrice, visited the children’s hospice to meet local families who will be able to benefit from the services the charity.

They included Grace Tinarwo after whom the centre is named, and her mother, Sarah.

The hospice will open for in-house care next year.

Princess Beatrice on her visit to the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice

Nine families are already signed up to the Hospice at Home service and referrals are open to families in the three towns who would benefit from clinical care, counselling, therapies and practical support in the comfort of their home.

Kirsty Franks, general manager of Grace’s Place, said: “We made a very clear promise that we would be caring for children and families by the end of the year and thanks to the hard work of all our supporters we’ve been able to make some Christmas magic happen for local families.

“So much has happened since we got the keys to Grace’s Place, but there’s still so much more to do. We’re now working hard to finalise the facilities available at Grace’s Place, creating a new wing and making sure the bedroom suites are suitable for visiting children and their families. With continued support from the local community and businesses from across Greater Manchester, I’m confident we’ll be able to make more magic happen and open the doors of Grace’s Place to families by autumn next year.”

As part of Forget Me Not’s fundraising drive, it is opening two charity shops early in 2018, in Rochdale and Royton, with more planned for later in the year.

To find out more about how you can help Grace’s Place say yes to children and families in North Manchester visit www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/gracesplace .