Middleton, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, falters

Britain's first national botanical garden created in over 200 years, Middleton, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, is in dire financial straits.

Opened in May 2000, with an investment of roughly $100 million CDN, the garden has not received the number of visitors required to pay its expenses. The garden has been forced to cut the equivalent of 55 full-time jobs, and will continue to operate with a staff of 15 full-time positions.

For interest's sake, a comparison of Middleton and UBC Botanical Garden:

Annual visitorship: 150 000 (Middleton) vs. 50 000 (UBC)

Admission Price: $16 CDN (Middleton) vs. $5 CDN (UBC) for 7 months, free for 5 months

Population of Wales: 2.94 million vs Population of BC: 4.14 million

Links:

Future of Garden Hangs in Balance via the BBC

Wales' botanic gardens facing closure via the Independent

Grant gives Wales' botanic garden new lease of life via The Guardian

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:40 PM on October 7, 2003