Glasshouses revamp plan is shelved

PLANS to revamp Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden have been shelved in the face of threatened funding cuts.

A 35 million scheme to replace the ageing glasshouses has been halted despite officials warning they have an "appalling carbon footprint".

Last year plans emerged to develop Britain's biggest glasshouse and replace the shabby structures that are up to 50 years old. The proposed new glasshouse, which would have been one of the world's most eco-friendly buildings, would have housed many of the plant collections held by the Botanics as well as most of the research facilities.

The current glasshouses have a 400,000 energy bill and next year 250,000 will have to be spent on repairs. But the Scottish Government, which funds the facility, now ordered that work be suspended because of the lack of available funding for major capital projects.

Professor Stephen Blackmore Regius Keeper at the Botanics, said: "Ironically, considering the climate change research we carry out, the glasshouses have an appalling carbon footprint and the energy costs make them very expensive to run."