After 25 years at the Ventnor Botanic Garden, Simon Goodenough has told VentnorBlog that he, after long discussions with his family, has applied for voluntary redundancy.
“There is not really a future for me at the Ventnor Botanic Garden – I have applied for voluntary redundancy. It will almost certainly be all over for me by the end on June.
“Too many pressures”
“I would dearly love to stay in Ventnor, but there are too many pressures. From a family point of view, with my wife on the mainland, I’ve taken the decision to apply for voluntary redundancy.
“It’s going to put me in a financially difficult position, but I really see no future for me at the Botanic Gardens that would be comfortable. I find the whole thing personally painful as I’ve given it 25 years of my life – so I’ve just got to walk away.”
Despite Simon having requesting it, it is still possible that the Isle of Wight council might not be accepted.
The future of the Botanic Gardens has been uncertain since it was first floated that it might be sold back in August last year.
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Patrick Eden Photography
