A CHARITY which is closing an in-demand day therapy centre to save money amid financial difficulties paid its seven highest earners a combined £500,000, it has been revealed.

Figures show last year St Helena Hospice paid thousands of pounds more to its management staff than it did in year ending March 2017.

The charity offers end-of-life care to terminally ill patients, as well as bereavement support to grieving families.

Accounts published by the Charity Commission show in the year to March 2015, the chief executive of the hospice and a group of key directors earned £371,240, excluding pensions.

By 2017, the hospice began including pension costs in its annual financial reports, which show the chief executive and seven directors received a total of £527,861 in the year ending March 2016.

By March 2018, the latest financial records available, the chief executive and six directors - one fewer staff member - were earning a total of £486,528, including pensions and national insurance contributions.

This is a £4,929 increase on average on the year leading up to March 2017.

The increase comes as the hospice moves forward with plans to close its Tendring Centre and sell the building as part of a bid to “protect core hospice services”.

Plans to change the use of the centre to a mix of residential and retail have been submitted to Tendring Council.

Speaking previously to the Gazette, chief executive Mark Jarman-Howe said the charity could be facing “financial trouble” if steps are not taken.

The centre was funded by £275,500 of charitable donations and offers bereavement support and therapy for patients.

The organisers of the Clacton Carnival are keen supporters of the day centre, contributing £22,500 to the building’s construction.

Carnival spokeswoman Nicky Freeman expressed her shock at the wage rise.

She said: “I am utterly surprised and I think it is totally wrong but I know at a lot of big fundraising charities the bosses do get this kind of money.

“When you’ve got people in the streets handing over small change, pennies and pounds, it puts it in perspective.”

Clacton county councillor Andy Wood started a petition against the planned closure.

He said: “It is absurd to pay that sort of money. To pay out £486,000 to a handful of staff when they are closing the centre to secure the hospice’s future, I can’t see any way they can justify that. Think of how many volunteers help the hospice for nothing, it is not fair on them.

“If the hospice is cashstrapped, surely the first thing to look at is the wage bill, not selling off property funded by donations. It is being run like a business, not a charity.”

Boss: 'Management costs are down by 9 per cent since 2016.'

Mark Jarman-Howe, the charity’s chief executive, said the hospice has had to adapt to meet “growing and changing” needs.

“Between 2014 and 2016, we introduced bigger and better hospice services which impacted our management costs,” he said.

“These increased as a result of the full impact of the first year of our 24/7 Singlepoint advice line and coordination centre; the extension of our Hospice in the Home community services; and our extended bereavement service.

“We now help 50 per cent more people to face incurable illness and bereavement each year as a result of those changes, and to help fund the extension of these services, we had to invest more in our retail, lottery and fundraising.”

He added: “As part of ongoing efforts to deliver our care more cost effectively, we have reduced management costs since 2016 by 9 per cent.

“We changed the way we report management costs in 2017 to include pension costs in order to be more transparent.

“We are seeking planning permission to close the Tendring Centre because it is too big for our needs and we know we can deliver the same support to our patients, families and carers as we do now, for less, if we use other premises.

“The sale income will increase our reserves to help us protect core hospice services over the next few years.”

The hospice guarantees the services offered at the Tendring Centre will not be lost.