Internal work is continuing to fit out the care suite – which will include six bedrooms for children and three family rooms – and the charity is aiming to hold an official opening in September.

Alison Goodman, director of fundraising, said the whole of the Noah’s Ark family was delighted to have finally taken possession of a state-of-the-art children’s hospice serving north London and Hertsmere.

“Over many years our supporters and volunteers have put in so much effort raising the money to Build the Ark that we can still hardly believe that we’ve finally made it and moved into such an inspirational building.

We are so looking forward to being able to welcome our first children and families into the Ark later this year...

“We are so looking forward to being able to welcome our first children and families into the Ark later this year, once everything is ready.

“The Noah’s Ark team would like to say a huge thank-you to the local community for their support in enabling the project to near completion.

“We want to make sure our local community is a crucial part of The Ark’s journey in the years to come.”

Office staff and out-reach care teams, previously based in premises in Victors Way, off Moxon Street, moved into new hospice at the beginning of July.

Once the fitting out is completed preparations will be made for the official opening and for an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The new hospice will provide 24-hour end-of-life, post-death and bereavement care; and sensory music and art rooms, plus specialised care for new-born babies.

Noah’s Ark currently provides assistance for around 300 children across five London boroughs, Barnet, Enfield, Camden, Islington, Harringey, and also Hertsmere.

The aim is to expand existing hospice-at-home services to cater for more of the estimated 1,200 local children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions.

Now that the hospice has been built, the emphasis of fund-raising will switch to the cost of financing the operational costs.

High-profile events will include another year of charity giving around Tottenham Hotspur Premier League games.

A local innovation is the £50 challenge, sponsored by Immersion Capital – a challenge to 20 Barnet businesses to find innovative ways to multiply a £50 investment to see how much money they can raise for Noah’s Ark by the end of September.