Local artist teams up with Orbital to raise £1,700 for new radiotherapy unit at GWH

North Swindon's Orbital Shopping Park has helped to raise £1,700 for the new radiotherapy unit at Great Western Hospital thanks to a local photography exhibition, hosted in its management suite last weekend.

Organised by local photographer Robin Allix-Page, the exhibition was made up of a collection of more than 800 images, spanning green spaces, parks and historic landmarks from across Swindon, which were made available for the public to buy.

All profits raised from the sale of the photographs have been donated to Brighter Futures – the charity arm of Great Western Hospital – which is currently running an appeal to raise money for key clinical equipment for its new radiotherapy unit.

The appeal is particularly close to Robin’s heart since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and had to travel as far as Oxford for daily treatment. The new unit will mean people living in Swindon with the same condition can be treated much closer to home in a purpose-built facility in future.

Orbital Shopping Park contributed to the appeal, making its own donation of £1,000.

Centre manager Jamie Turner said: “We really admire Robin’s work and his fundraising efforts, so we were more than happy to offer our management suite to host the exhibition, and were delighted to be able to make a donation to the appeal on behalf of all of the team here too.”

Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon, said: “It was an honour to officially open this fantastic display of wonderful photographs showing the very best of Swindon and the surrounding areas. Robin is a real talent and his story of what inspired him to raise money for the Brighter Futures appeal is incredibly moving and inspiring.

“Having a radiotherapy centre in Swindon is so important not just to those who have to go through the terrible ordeal of cancer, but also their family and friends who currently have to drive more than 70 miles to Oxford and back each day.

“I have supported this project from the beginning, including lobbying government for their pot of funding – it has been truly fantastic to see how the local community has come together to help us reach the final target.”

Lisa Utting, Donor Development Manager at Brighter Futures, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed working with Robin on his fabulous photographic exhibition at Orbital Shopping Park. Robin has raised lots of money towards our radiotherapy appeal which we are hugely thankful for.”