Botanic Garden was “risky” project, says new Audit report

26 April 2006

The public bodies providing funding for the National Botanic Garden of Wales did not adequately assess and address the risks involved in the project, according to a new Audit Committee report.

The Assembly’s Audit Committee today (Wednesday April 26) publishes its report, Funding for the National Botanic Garden of Wales. About half of the £43.6m capital costs of the Botanic Garden, which opened in May 2000, were provided by the Millennium Commission. The remainder of the capital came from a range of sources, including £6.3 million from the European Regional Development Fund administered by the Welsh Office, £2.1million from the Welsh Development Agency and £1.2 million from the Wales Tourist Board. The report concludes that these bodies recognised the Garden was a risky project but did not adequately probe and challenge its business plans. However, the Committee has found that since April 2002, the Assembly Government and key stakeholders have worked together with the Garden towards a sustainable future whilst minimising the cost to the public sector. The report also found that the Welsh public funders could have collaborated more effectively during the appraisal, capital development and crucial early operational phases of the Garden project. They were presented with possible signs that the Garden might be facing financial difficulties but they did not collectively build a comprehensive picture of the situation until the Garden’s finances had reached a crisis point. The report makes a number of recommendations for future projects, including better analysis of business plans and more collaboration between funding partners. Janet Davies AM, Chair of the Audit Committee, said: “The Garden was a high risk project – intended to be self-funding once open to the public. There is nothing wrong with the public sector putting money into risky projects, but the risks involved need to be identified and managed. However, the Committee is pleased to note that the Garden appears to be meeting most of its key recovery strategy targets, and that the future now looks better for the Garden. The actions of the Welsh funders to attempt to secure the healthy future of the Garden demonstrate what is possible with an effective collaborative approach.”