A NEW pop-up shop has opened its doors at Festival Place to raise money for St. Michael’s Hospice. 

The store, opposite The Health Hub on the Queen Anne’s Walk, offers a range of items including clothes, children’s toys and gifts and will stay open until the end of November.

St Michael’s Hospice, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, provides care to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and is Festival Place’s charity of the year for the next three years. Initiatives at the centre, including Moonwalk and the Happy Wrappy present wrapping service at Christmas, have already raised more than £37,500.

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Festival Place Centre Director Neil Churchill said: “We take great pride in our place at the heart of the community and are delighted to continue our support for St. Michael’s Hospice by donating this fundraising space.”

On the first day the shop was open it raised more than £900.

Ann Schuster, Head of Retail at St. Michael’s Hospice, added: “We are very grateful for the support from Festival Place and for allowing us to use the unit in Queen Anne’s Walk to set up our pop-up shop.

“We offer a range of new and high-quality pre-loved items including clothing and accessories for the whole family, gifts, books, toys and much more.

“We hope to be well supported by Basingstoke and look forward to welcoming our customers so we can make as much income as possible to help our patients and their families whom we care for in our hospice and in the community.”