Head of public engagement and learning at Kew Angela MacFarlane said:
“We have some great plans that I want to bring in around the
redevelopment of the Temperate House. Kew is starting a fund for that
project to restore one of the world’s most iconic and beautiful
buildings, certainly that is associated with horticulture. It is an
eight-year project that will launch in summer 2011. We’re negotiating
for the initial capital at the moment.”

The Temperate House, the largest surviving Victorian glass structure,
houses Kew’s collection of tender woody plants from temperate regions,
including a Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis) that is believed to be
the world’s tallest glasshouse plant.

The Government report found that the building had not had substantial
maintenance since the early 1980s and has now reached a state where
total restoration is essential to avoid closure for health and safety
reasons.

Kew estimates that it will have to spend more than £20m in the
next five years to overhaul its glasshouses.