Thanks to Rosemary from the Friends of the Ventnor Botanic Garden for this news. In her words. Ed
Last night in a flurry of activity, two law firms completed the signing of a 125 year lease for the Ventnor Botanic Garden (VBG) by a Community Interest Company.
John Curtis, Director of the CIC signing the lease with the IoW Council said, “This is one step – we have many, many more ahead of us. We finalised the transfer with minutes to spare before the busy season, so we are scrambling to finish our new entrance and putting the final touches on our pricing.”
Garden must be financially sustainable
Apart from the £200,000 being pledged by the council in relation to capital improvements to the infrastructure, the Garden will no longer receive a subsidy from the Isle of Wight Council and must be financially sustainable on its own.
“We have been working hard to secure the future of the Garden and now we can return to developing its potential,” said Phil Le May, Chairman of the Ventnor Botanic Garden Friends’ Society.
“It is a new day and a new opportunity for the staff,” commented Chris Kidd, Curator.
Listen to a VB interview with John Curtis who will be heading up the VBG CIC.
