Fee plan for Royal Botanic Garden

Published on Friday 5 November 2010 17:22

ONE of Scotland's leading visitor attractions is considering admission charges after being warned it could lose a quarter of its government funding.

• Admission charges and opening hours could be up for renewal

The Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh (RBGE) is also expected to reduce its opening hours, cut back on research and conservation and shed dozens of jobs if it is hit with a budget cut of more than 2 million. The 340-year-old institution says visits for school pupils and students, and the holding of art exhibitions are likely to be axed. Three satellite sites - Benmore in Argyll, Dawyck in the Borders, and Logan in Dumfries and Galloway - may be mothballed.

The most drastic savings in the gardens' recent history are being considered after civil servants warned the charitable body that runs the Botanics to prepare for a cut of up to 25 per cent over three years.

The 8.8 million grant RBGE gets from a Scottish Government agency represents almost three-quarters of its income.

Managers are to try to retain as many of the workforce as possible amid fears that the loss of researchers, scientists and horticulturalists would damage its global reputation.

But the number of international projects RBGE is involved with - in more than 80 countries - is likely to be vastly reduced unless alternative funding can be found. Professor Stephen Blackmore, Regius Keeper at the Botanics, admitted it had no option but to prepare for cutbacks.

Britain's second-oldest botanic garden, the attraction has been based at Inverleith, in north Edinburgh, since 1820, having started life as a "physic garden" for growing medicinal plants in Holyrood Park in 1670.

Visitor numbers have soared by about a third this year, to more than 600,000 since the opening of a flagship 16m visitor centre, the John Hope Gateway.

But the entire garden may be forced to close an hour earlier next year to cut the staff overtime bill.

The introduction of an admission charge is being considered only a year after a previous move was shelved, despite being recommended by the trustees.

Although introducing admission fees would require approval from the government, which ruled out the previous proposal, similar moves are being considered by the National Galleries of Scotland and National Museums Scotland if their worst fears over cuts are realised. These bodies, which receive 13.75m and 22m respectively, only charge for special exhibitions.

Blackmore said: "We are rated one of the top four gardens of this type in the world, along with Kew Gardens, New York Botanical Garden and Missouri Botanic Garden. All of these charge admission and I think it would be reasonable for us to as well, as long as it was a reasonable, such as 5."