THE full extent of the financial difficulties facing the National Botanic Garden of Wales has been revealed by the Welsh Conservatives.
Following a Freedom of Information request, letters, emails and business plans spanning the last five years are now in the public domain.
Information obtained by the Leader of the Official Opposition Nick Bourne AM reveals:
o The Garden appeared to threaten the Assembly Government on several occasions that without their financial support the Garden would close
o The Assembly Government repeatedly raised concerns about the Garden's business plans
o KPMG predicted in a 2002 report that the Garden would need on-going financial support in perpetuity
o NBGW approached WAG in June 2007 with a corporate plan for 2007/12 and application for further financial assistance despite an earlier statement from the Assembly Government that financial support would cease after 2008.
Mr Bourne AM said:
"The material we have obtained makes for very worrying reading.
"The National Botanic Garden of Wales is a huge organisation and must be run properly.
"I am confident the new management team currently running the garden is turning around its fortunes after a number of difficult years.
"We can clearly see from the information we have that there has been an ongoing rhetoric between the Garden and the Assembly Government about the severe financial problems for years.
"It is imperative a business of this scale is run properly.
"Millions of pounds of tax-payers money has gone into pulling the Garden back from the brink of liquidation again and again.
"The Assembly Government needs to make sure now that a viable business plan is put in place at Middleton to ensure the Gardens start to make money and do not end up eating into another large overdraft."
Shadow Culture Minister Paul Davies AM added:
"It is clear from this evidence that previous management should not have been allowed to run an allotment, let alone a Garden of this size.
"The Assembly Government had little choice but to step in and clear its overdraft last year.
"The Garden is an important natural asset to Wales which has the potential to attract visitors from around the world.
"Other Botanic Gardens like Kew and Edinburgh are good examples of successful businesses of this type.
"The National Botanic Garden of Wales also has an important role to play in the study and promotion of horticulture.
"Welsh Conservatives will continue to work constructively with the Garden management to ensure it has a long term, viable future.
"The signs we have seen from the current management team are encouraging and show a great deal of progress from the difficulties experienced in the Garden's early years."
