Welsh Assembly culture minister Alun Pugh has said that a deal could be done to save Middleton, the loss-making £43m National Botanic Garden of Wales, which were built as a Millennium project.
The minister stated that talks had reached a stage “where a consensus was emerging over the gardens’ future.”
The gardens have been threatened by closure since December 2003, when Pugh rejected calls for the Welsh Assembly government to provide a £3m lifeline.
On 1 March, the planned closure of the gardens at Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, was narrowly averted by the promise of more talks.
Since it opened in 2000, the Lottery-funded gardens have been hit by a slump in visitor numbers and has accrued debts of around £3m.
An injection of around £1m of Lottery and Assembly money failed to solve the problems of the gardens, which have been renamed Middleton.
This week, the minister defended his decision not to provide public money as a guarantee of the site’s debts.
He said that a “distinctly more realistic approach” was at the heart of current talks and that he was “hopeful” of a settlement soon.
“I’m pleased that there has been a distinctly more realistic approach taken by all those involved in talks about the future of the gardens in recent weeks,” he said.
“We have always said that the Welsh Assembly government cannot provide an open-ended revenue subsidy to the garden. I believe our firm stance has helped to concentrate minds around the table by focusing on the real problems faced.
“We have never wanted the gardens to close. There are a lot of details still to be agreed by all parties and this may take a good deal of work to hammer out, but I am hopeful now that a deal can be reached.”
The Millennium Commission has warned that it would seek to reclaim a £21m grant if the gardens were to close.
References: EGi News 16/03/04
