New visitor welcome building proposed for Cambridge University Botanic Garden – to replace ageing shed

A new visitor welcome building is proposed for the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

It would replace the existing ticket kiosk that sits in the north-east corner of the garden, by the Hills Road/Station Road entrance, and provide improved facilities.

The new building would feature a ticket office, shop, toilets, changing rooms, toilets, storage and a buggy store.

The university has applied to Cambridge City Council for planning permission to create the larger building.

In its planning application, it says: “The existing ticket kiosk is accommodated in a single storey ‘garden shed’ and is inadequate for receiving visitors to the garden and the associated administrative procedures.

“The existing building cannot comfortably accommodate two working occupants and there is a limited field of vision to observe or welcome large visitor numbers, alongside no accommodation for visitors with hearing impediments, nor can wheelchair users communicate with staff due to inadequate window arrangements.”

“The proposed development will improve the entrance to the Botanic Garden, creating a welcome building that better reflects one of the world’s leading university Botanic Gardens.

It points out that the existing ageing timber shed provides an “underwhelming” welcome to the 175-year-old garden, which is one of the first visitor attractions seen by many arriving in Cambridge by train. The document reveal that some visitors have been unimpressed by the kiosk, which is also too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

The new welcome building would have mechanical ventilation and LED lighting, with air source heat pumps servicing it.

The improved facility is key to cater for the growing numbers of visitors to the garden, the university says.

It had fewer than 200,000 visitors in 2012, but in 2023, more than 360,000 visited, with a majority - more than 195,000 - entering via the Station Road gate entrance.

“The proposed visitor welcome building will ensure that the continued growth in visitor numbers can be accommodated safely and efficiently,” the university says.

“The ticketing area increases the space and number of visitor service points, increasing the efficient flow of visitors. The development also provides an increase in much-needed toilet facilities including a changing places toilet (often the first port of call for those travelling from outside of Cambridge or visiting with children).

“The increased storage facilities for wheelchairs and electric mobility scooters will also allow increased support for less mobile visitors.”

The Botanic Garden is listed, but the university says the new single-storey building will cause “less than substantial harm to the heritage assets” and this is “outweighed by the public benefits deriving from this development”. Views into the wider garden “are limited from this vantage point due to existing trees and landscaping”, it points out.

The development would require the removal of one Cupressusx notabilis tree - brought into the garden in 1976 and planted in 1977. It is one of four such hybrid trees - which are not found in the wild and have no conservation status - in the garden. Its removal will enable an adjacent Quercus Trojan to be retained and a Chichester elm tree (Ulmusxhollandica ‘Vegeta’) will be planted south of the proposed ticket office as a replacement, propagated from elms in Chichester which resisted Dutch Elm disease.

The Botanic Garden contains about 2,000 trees in total, including 285 from the ICUN’s Red List, and has a continuous cycle of felling and planting.

Under its Living Collections Strategy for 2020-30, it also has plans to extend its tree collection, focusing on wild collected specimens of conservation or research value, from taxonomic groups predicted to grow well amid climate change.

The university said: “While the loss of the tree is regrettable, the university has been through a thorough design process to develop proposals for a successful visitor welcome building which meets the objectives and needs of the project, and provides an appropriate entrance to the Botanic Gardens. The loss of the tree is unavoidable and can be justified in the context of providing a building that provides public benefit.

“This is further mitigated by the replacement tree proposed to compensate for its loss, alongside the continued tree planting which takes place at the gardens and the proposed landscaping, which will further enhance the overall entrance to the site. The proposal, with the associated landscaping will create a functional, attractive and well-designed environment to complement the garden, improving the entrance to the Botanic Garden, and will be a visible and attractive draw to those passing or approaching, creating a strong first impression of the garden, the university and Cambridge’s visitor economy.”

If approved by councillors, the existing 15 cycle parking spaces would be replaced with 16 in a new location to the north of the building.