Leamington’s iconic tropical Glasshouse might not be quite as tropical in the future if council chiefs act on a call to cut the temperature by half. The 20-year-old building in Jephson Gardens is one of the costliest council-owned premises to heat, with a number of plants needing a minimum of 21 degrees during the day to keep them alive. Cllr Ian Davison (Green, Leamington Brunswick) suggested his ‘cool’ approach to rising costs during Question Time at this week’s full council meeting of Warwick District Council.
Addressing the leader, Cllr Andrew Day, he said: “I’ve asked lots of people about it – most never go there, some went a few years ago, some have been for a wedding, and one or two pop in when it’s raining or cold. It is certainly not that loved or used.“I understand it used to have only temperate plants, but tropical ones have been added so that we now keep it at a minimum of 21 degrees. As the world-famous Kew Gardens Temperate House is kept above 10 degrees, would you give it urgent consideration to do the same? My estimate is that it would save over £50,000 a year when the new gas price is agreed.“If it was a temperate glasshouse, then it could include more species that grow here, which would dovetail nicely with the biodiversity action plan that we have agreed.”
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