The Southland Charity Hospital project, inspired by the late Blair Vining, reaches another major milestone next week.

For the past month, Invercargill firm Barry Stewart Builders has been stripping out and demolishing parts of the former Clifton Club, on Wicklow Street.

The demolition phase will be finished this week and building work will officially begin this coming Monday, March 29.

Once operational, the Southland Charity Hospital will provide healthcare for those living throughout Southland and Otago (everybody in the Southern District Health Board zone) who are unable to access treatment through the private or public health systems. 

The project was spurred by the work of the late cancer care advocate Blair Vining, whose epic fight for more equitable care for all Kiwis regardless of their postcode garnered huge support throughout New Zealand. 

His wife, Melissa Vining, is one of the team carrying on the torch to ensure southern New Zealanders can access the care they desperately need. 

Lead builder on charity hospital project, Barry Stewart, says he’s grateful for the support of local tradies and suppliers who have come to the party and donated their time, expertise and materials to bring this incredible cause to life.

Stewart initially had some doubts about taking on the project, simply due to its scale and the challenge of managing a wide array of volunteers alongside his own staff, which includes a project manager, foreman, quantity surveyor and carpenters.

But he says he slept on it, and decided "why not".

"I decided we are in as good a position as anyone to make this work, so here we go," he says.

"I think there will be a real sense of community satisfaction in this. 

"We are a cog in the wheel. It is a real community project and Melissa Vining has certainly done a great job to get things rolling. We are pleased to be involved."

Stewart says the hospital will be "a great thing for the people of Southland and Otago". 

"It’s also a feel-good thing and it lifts people’s spirits, not unlike the inner-city development happening here in Invercargill which, like this, is world class.”