This is the response received by  Lewis Normand CHort MCIHort FLS
BA (Hons) Garden Design
PGCE TQFE QTLS

We can see from this response that the Scottish government are also not happy about the proposal to close the gardens which is encouraging. 

Your Reference: Letter from Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society

14 July 2026
Dear Lewis Normand,

Thank you for your letter dated 19 June 2026 in regard to the proposed closure of the University of Dundee Botanic Gardens. The First Minister is also in receipt of your letter and given that horticulture is part of my portfolio as Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands, I would like to respond to your concerns on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Firstly, I would like to reassure you that I am acutely aware of the value of gardens and green spaces. My engagements with the environmental horticulture sector have provided opportunities for me to see first-hand the many benefits of gardening to communities, as well as the expertise and skill required to maintain these important greenspaces. Your letter clearly highlights the significance of the Dundee Botanical Gardens as national resource offering an education and research platform, community green space as well as the irreplaceable plant collections. I therefore share your disappointment that the University has indicated the closure of their Botanic Gardens.

I also acknowledge the significant distress and anxiety which the redundancy announcement will have caused the University and the Botanic Garden staff members, as well as students. The Education Secretary has been clear about the Scottish Government’s deep dissatisfaction on this issue. Indeed, she met with the Principal and asked that the university leadership pause the consultation process to enable ministers the opportunity to consider and interrogate the evidence which was, regrettably, not agreed to.

Scottish Ministers, special advisers and the Permanent Secretary are covered by the terms of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016. See www.lobbying.scot

Tha Ministearanna h-Alba, an luchd-comhairleachaidh sònraichte agus Rùnaire Maireannach fo chumhachan Achd Coiteachaidh (Alba) 2016. Faicibh www.lobbying.scot

St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
www.gov.scot
 
The Scottish Government has previously committed funding support of up to £62m to the University of Dundee via the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The University is, of course, an autonomous institution responsible for its own operational decision making. However, Ministers recognise the value of the Botanic Gardens both to the city and wider scientific community, as set out in your letter, and are keen to see a solution to this issue. The SFC, who are responsible for overseeing the funding conditions, have raised the issue with the University. We understand that the University is now in dialogue with a number of key stakeholders with a view to securing a sustainable way forward for the gardens.

I assure you that Ministers will continue to do all in our power to enable the recovery of the University of Dundee and its Botanic Gardens as a sustainable and well-respected higher education institution, while necessarily observing the autonomy of the University.

I am grateful to you for sharing your concerns, and would like to reassure you that Scottish Ministers will continue to scrutinise the situation.

Yours sincerely

JIM FAIRLIE