Shalom House founder and patron support auction decision for closure site

The founder and patron of a north Pembrokeshire hospice, which is up for auction after closing last year, have supported the decision to offer it for sale.
Shalom House in St Davids closed its doors last October due to ‘ongoing financial difficulties and a lack of sustainable funding’.
The hospice provided holistic, accessible and personalised care to people with life-limiting conditions, including cancer, and other life limiting illnesses, such as MND, Parkinson’s and COPD.
It was based in a five-bedroom bungalow on Nun Street, St Davids, gifted to the charity by romantic novelist Elizabeth de Guise.
The hospice opened its doors to patients in 2007 after more than a decade of fund raising throughout Pembrokeshire.
Margaret Burnett MBE, a former district nurse, spearheaded the campaign for a hospice in Pembrokeshire. Beginning in 1994 before retiring as a trustee in 2012.
Since the hospice closed, two of its rooms were used as a branch surgery for patients who used to use St Davids Surgery, which closed in October 2024.
The property is listed as a five-bedroom detached modern bungalow and will be sold by auction.
It is listed with West Wales Properties at a guide price of £450,000.
The property is described as a ‘versatile property offering exceptional potential for a range of uses, including continued healthcare or commercial use, bed and breakfast, or conversion into a spacious residential home, subject to the necessary planning consents.’
The listing says that Shalom House ‘offering outstanding potential in a sought-after location’.
In a joint public statement over the sale and auction of Shalom House, founder Margaret Burnett MBE and patron Baroness Finlay said: “As founder and patron of Shalom House, we are issuing this joint statement to provide absolute clarity regarding our position on the upcoming public auction of the Nun Street property.
“We are fully aware that a group of local community members and beneficiaries have approached the board of trustees requesting that the auction be halted. We understand the deep emotional attachment to the building and the local desire to retain the premises. Clearly not for palliative care respite.
“However, as founder of this charity and alongside our patron Baroness Finlay, we wish to state unequivocally that we fully support the board of trustees in their decision to proceed with the auction. The auction will not be halted.
“Our position is firm and our reasoning is rooted in law, history and the original spirit of the charity.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​