Council chiefs could lower temperature inside iconic Glasshouse in Leamington to cut costs

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.”

Cllr Day (Con, Bishop’s Tachbrook) said it was a timely suggestion because officers were already looking at reviewing the heating options for the building which is heated to 15 degrees overnight.He added: “Reducing the temperature below these levels would require a major replant of this facility. The original planting scheme cost in the region of £50,000 and on top of that, a replant would require design and labour“However, on the other side of the equation, your point about ongoing energy costs and emissions is important. In terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions, excluding leisure centres, the Glasshouse is consistently the third highest in the council’s assets. Over recent years, the annual cost of heating the building has been around £11,500 and we can expect this to be substantially more this year and in the years to come.“One final issue to factor in is that the Glasshouse is used for weddings and reducing the temperature could impact how attractive it is for these events although the attraction is more about the way it looks rather than the temperature.“Officers have been asked to explore the costs and benefits of reducing the temperature at the same time as reviewing the heating options.”