To Subsidise or Not to Subsidise: That is the Question

It has just been announced by the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones,(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7230639.stm) that the National Botanic Garden Wales at Llanarthe, Carmarthenshire is to have its £1.9m debt written off by public money in a 'one-off grant' from the National Assembly. The annual grant it receives from the Assembly will also rise from a current £150,000 pa to a possible £550,000. Further good news for the £43m garden is that Carmarthenshire County Council will convert a loan of £1.35m that they made to the centre to a grant, as well as providing a package of financial support matched by that from the Assembly. All this should help to finally place the NBGW on a firm financial footing (although the size of the Assembly Government's annual grant will be reconsidered in 2010) and is linked to the meeting of 'recovery targets' as well as the development of science and education programmes. One can't help but link the announcement to the earlier wiping out of the £13.5m debt of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff which was accompanied by a trebling of its annual grant (something for the regions?). There is no doubt that operating and establishing any centre like the NBGW takes time and money. Many of the earlier projections when the garden was set up were hopelessly optimistic (its location is not perfect). The latest available visitor number is actually around 102,000 pa so a projected number for this year of 125,000 still sounds a tad hopeful. It is, however, a nice place to visit and can be viewed as a regional asset, although I suspect that such entities appeal to a limited proportion of the general population. The money has certainly had to come from somewhere and voices are already being raised about the effects of potential cuts elsewhere. I have some sympathy as it is very difficult for governing bodies to deal with an issue like this. The garden is already established and has already received masses of Lottery and Public monies. The only options are to give it more support (in the perhaps remote hope that the operation will eventually become self-financing) or to pull the plug, accepting the loss of the facility and the investment. Neither option is very attractive and, in a sense, the NBGW has obtained museum status.