Around 250 members of the public gathered at the Ventnor Winter Gardens last night to hear of possible plans for a new Trust to take responsibility for running the Ventnor Botanic Garden (VBG).
The meeting was opened with Isle of Wight council (IWC) Cabinet Member, Cllr George Brown explaining what he referred to as, ‘the harsh realities’ of the impact of the Government’s Spending Review.
Spending Review forces decision
As we’ve heard before, the IWC are having to deal with a grant deficit of £32m from the Government over the next four years with a whopping £17m having to be cut from their budget in 2011.
He spoke of the council’s need for the VBG to be cost neutral (it costs £500,000 to run each year, with £250,000 coming back to them in income) and how more input would be needed from the voluntary community in order to sustain it.
Recognising the Garden is of international importance, he acknowledged that it is an asset for the Island. He went on to justify his reasons for prudent borrowing to repair the incline lift (plans for a vertical shaft lift were dropped last week at the Scrutiny Committee when the delegated decision was called-in), stating that the public would not visit or return to the Garden without a working lift.
Cllr Brown finished his address by saying that he was not hiding from anything or anybody.
Development Trust presentation
Chair of the Friend of VBG, Philip Le May, then introduced Andrea Richter, a Ventnor resident and also a VBG Friend.
Andrea started her presentation by explaining that she, along with Philip Le May and Simon Goodenough (curator of the VBG) were was looking at setting up a Development Trust that could take over the running of the VBG once the IWC cease subsidising it in 2012.
A Ventnor resident for 27 years, she hoped that as someone with business acumen and experience in organisation, she would be able to help the VBG through the Development Trust.
Andrea expressed her grave concern at the period of time (18 months) over which the council is proposing to withdraw their funding. Going on to say, that many others , including the Open Spaces Society (who protect Protecting open spaces, common land, village greens and public paths) were in agreement that it was too short.
Concerns expressed by Royal Hotel owner
This point was also echoed later in the meeting by William Bailey, proprietor of the Royal Hotel, who has a temporary catering contract at the Royal Garden Cafe. He said that although it looked as though the IWC had done the best job they could of running the Garden, it had lost millions of pounds over the years.
He expressed major concerns that anyone coming in to take over would need to turn the £250k annual loss into profit and the transition therefore needed to be over a longer period.
Isle of Wight Botanic Garden, Ventnor
Andrea continued her presentation with a slide show. She spoke about a possible re-branding of the Garden in order to open it up to a wider market. Suggesting that more people recognise the name Isle of Wight rather than Ventnor.
Possible franchising, rental, corporate involvement and the voluntary potential were all mentioned.
Revenue ideas highlighted
A garden centre, restaurant/cafe, educational centre, online shop, private hire, weddings, lectures, artisan and local trader days were suggested ideas.
The gift shop could be given an overhaul and stock replaced with items created on the Island.
Adoption schemes for plants could be introduced. Professional publications could be produced by those qualified in the area.
The presence of Red Squirrels and Lizards could be exploited to attract visitors. Guided and audio tours could be introduced (this was something the current staff have been keen to establish).
And finally there was the £50,000 pa revenue from the car park.
As the key benefits of the Development Trust were outlined, Andrea explained that if it was run as a viable business, it wouldn’t need public funds. The VBG could continue to support community development and protect the public space, thereby unburdening the IWC.
But, she stressed, it needed to be over a period of seven years and not 18 months.
Floor opened for public questions
The first member of the public to speak was Keith Leonard.
He’d attended the previous meeting and said that he was as frustrated at this meeting as he was the last.
Going on to say that he was expecting to hear a full breakdown of costs, salaries, expenditure etc, he questioned Cllr Brown as to why he hadn’t brought along the full figures.
Cllr Brown replied that he hadn’t expected to explain the costs of running the VBG at the meeting, but that the full figures would be made available to anyone who wished to see them.
Strategic Management?
Next up was Mike Freeman. He was concerned that income to the VBG would be ‘creamed off’ by tenants or franchisees.
He argued that a great deal could have been done by the IWC in the past to avoid the losses, and went on to ask what the Strategic Manager had been doing for the last five years whilst the VBG lost millions of pounds.
This resulted in calls from the audience for Astrid Davies (Strategic Manager Partnerships) to explain herself.
Ms Davies agreed that more could’ve been done to capitalise the VBG, but that some areas weren’t as easy to enable by the council as they would be for an outside body.
Cllr Brown stepped in to protect Ms Davies from criticism by the public, by saying it was the job of council officers to carry out policy dictated by the council. He went on to say that it was never the primary function of the IWC to run businesses.
Although he did later state that “if we had done things earlier, the revenue line might’ve been better”.
Union members concerned at changes
Mark Chiverton, Unison representative for council staff, explained that he had been supporting staff who would be affected by the funding changes.
He pointed out that many gardens of similar repute were run by other councils or universities and that staff were concerned about the VBG being moved away from public services ethos.
RHS Trust involvement?
Peter Marsden spoke from the audience next. He also expressed concern at the timescale and wondered whether the RHS had been approached, who would sponsor applications and asked if the Friends of the VBG would take on a management role.
Philip Le May explained that the constitution of the Friends did not allow for that to happen.
Budget blueprint in December
Cllr Brown told the meeting that the blueprint for the budget was being presented on 5 December and not until then, would he have an accurate idea how the allocation of funds for those things under his responsibility would be decided.
He went on the explain the Freehold of the VBG would remain in the public body (IWC) but that arrangements could be flexible enough to ensure there was a very real prospect of increasing the revenue line.
What can you provide for free?
Annie Trapp (?) asked if the IWC could provide their legal, marketing, licensing services, etc, free of charge to the running of the VBG.
Cllr Brown explained that “nothing comes for free” and that the council had to be careful not to infringe legislation.
View it as an asset
Ventnor resident, Marcia Forsyth-Grant, urged the IWC to view the VBG as the asset it is rather than a burden.
She pointed out that the Lost Gardens of Heligan attracted two million visitors a year and without becoming too commercial, the VBG could become a valuable asset for the council and the Island.
Asset stripping?
Janet Fishleigh asked where the proceeds of the Signal Point House (building and land within the VBG), which was about to be sold (£295,000?), would go. Would it be going back into the VBG or into the council’s coffers?
Cllr Brown answered that the IWC has to abide by law and that any revenue from the sale of Signal Point House would go back to the IWC.
A member of the public called out that the money could be ring-fenced (and had before) to ensure it went back to the VBG.
Cllr Brown disputed this and another member of the public later called the actions ‘asset stripping’.
Offer of help rejected
Brian Charlton questioned Cllr Brown on the costs and losses involved in the running of the VBG.
After several back and forths between Cllr Brown and Mr Charlton, it was confirmed that the annual running cost for the VBG was £500,000. Cllr Brown argued that as £250,000 came back in revenue, the IWC were only seeking to relieve themselves of £250,000 per annum.
Mr Charlton went on to say that he’d written to Astrid Davies, stating that he’d be happy to sign confidentiality disclosures in order to offer his business expertise.
She had replied along the lines of “not now, very busy.” It was not clear whether that reply was paraphrased.
Car park revenue?
Jilly Elston asked whether the revenue from the car park would go to the VBG after the council ceased funding the running of the Garden.
We didn’t catch the answer, so if anyone reading this can update us, please leave a comment below and we’ll update the report.
What if no-one comes forward?
Debbie Frost asked what would happen if no-one came forward to take over the running of the VBG.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get full notes on the answer, but Cllr Brown did mention something about the IWC having to continue operate the Visitor Centre. This was in connection with the previous outside funding given to the VBG.
Hiking out services
The final member of the public to speak was Ventnor resident Vale Taylor. She expressed concern at the way that the IWC was in her view, “hiking out services and expecting residents to pay.”
The meeting was brought to a close at 9pm with Philip Le May pointing out that this would be the last public meeting this side of Christmas, as the Friends awaitied the outcome of the 5 December IWC meeting.
