On 31 May 2014 at 7:26am Depressed Gardener wrote:
I think Kew have shot themselves in the foot by introducing a £10 cark park fee for NT members. Apparently people are staying away from Wakehurst and visiting other NT properties nearby instead. Let's hope they see sense and lower the price!
On 31 May 2014 at 7:50am James Wade wrote:
Are you aware of why they have done this and why it needs to be done??
Kew get screwed over by the NT at wakehurst and the only possible way of them making any money is by charging for parking. If your a non NT member you dont pay,and there's a annual pass that can be bought.
Also, if the National Trust weren't so greedy this wouldn't of happened!
Given that Kew are making massive cut backs at the moment i really hope it brings in some revenue for them, seeing as they get next to nothing from NT members actually visiting.
On 31 May 2014 at 1:32pm Daft wrote:
Quite simply I for one will boycott it as an NT member. So entry was free, however I doubt any of the thousands of visitors each year ever left without spending money, whether it be in the cafe's or shop, or a visit to Santa's grotto at Christmas for example.
It looks to me extremely short sighted & poor economics. Less NT members = less income.
It sounds as if the financial management of Wakehurst is a little off colour!
On 31 May 2014 at 4:45pm bastian wrote:
Kew has had a 2 million pound cut from their budget, the NT don't own Wakehurst, but they have a cafe and shop on the grounds, they charge for entry but don't give enough to Kew even though it's one of their top attractions. The Nt has a huge profit turn over but this meanness has done them no good at all, sacly it rebounds on Kew, but when the trust costs £95 a year, then they chrage £10 for three hours parking at Wakehurst it stops punters wanting to go. we used to go alot because we don't have a garden of our own, but this is too much for us to justify, I dare say many others feel the same. it also sets a precident for charging at other places-that would be a mistake.
On 31 May 2014 at 5:06pm Grumpy trader wrote:
My in-laws live in lindfield and are NT members and go for a cuppa once or twice a week with friends or just to get out the house for an hour or two , but they don't go at the mo ,
On 31 May 2014 at 7:06pm sanctimonious...moi? wrote:
Bought a Friends of Wakehurst ticket for £25pa which gives free access to car park for ticketholder, free entry to garden, 10% off at the shop + a free ticket to Kew. Bargain for a year & it acts as a proximity pass for access in/out of car park - so if you like, a family with NT membership only need one Friends pass. Better still, Kew are now getting some money back for their good work.
On 1 Jun 2014 at 8:42am Old Malling wrote:
The NT own Wakehurst but Kew have a 100 year lease - the terms of which include free entry to NT members. Kew have had their funding cut and need to find a way to break even at Wakehurst. These parking charges seem to be hugely unpopular though.
On 1 Jun 2014 at 8:51am Daft wrote:
Sanctimonious you'll no doubt enjoy your pass seeing as you'll have the place to yourself!
On 1 Jun 2014 at 9:20am Madness wrote:
So basically Kew look at the amount of cars parked annually & times that by £10....genius. Problem is the car park will be empty half the time, less revenue all round, you couldn't make it up
On 1 Jun 2014 at 11:03am The Twister wrote:
This is the reason according the Wakehurst Places website:
Wakehurst is owned by the National Trust and Kew has maintained the gardens and woodlands through a lease since 1965. Currently around 320,000 National Trust members (80% of total visitors to Wakehurst), benefit from free entry and free parking at Wakehurst annually. An endowment left to the National Trust contributes £80,000 a year to Wakehurst but, despite income from commercial activities contributing £750,000, Kew is still left with an annual deficit of £1.4 million, which is not sustainable.
Car parking charges allow Kew to link income directly to visitor numbers for the first time, contributing £500,000 a year to the deficit, which will be vital for the future of Wakehurst, allowing us to continue to offer a world class garden, nature reserve and programme of events for our visitors.
On 1 Jun 2014 at 3:44pm Swampy wrote:
100 year lease ? What happens then, all the seeds chucked out or planted ?
On 1 Jun 2014 at 4:26pm Grumpy trader wrote:
Twister ,the numbers just don't work , I very much doubt that at a tenner a go they won't achieve 500k income if it was a token couple of quid I'm sure they would get more takers and thus more spent inside the venue and fingers crossed the books balance , or if they sold tenners at a discount the old bids might flock there !
On 2 Jun 2014 at 7:19am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I think you're right, Trader.
If the 320,000 NT members visiting represents 80% of visitors, then they only get 80,000 paying visitors a year. The extra £10 will put off an awful lot of that 80,000 imo, as it will make it a very expensive day out.
I reckon that a lot of NT members will balk at paying £10: while they might pay it once, if they weren't aware of the introduction of the charge, they won't likely to make frequent repeat visits.
I think they would have done better to make the parking charge more reasonable, say £3 or £4. I think that would be less of a deterrent to the casual visitor and the numbers would have held up better.
Mind you, the NT should stump up more. I'm a member, and I certainly wouldn't mind my money being used in this way.
On 2 Jun 2014 at 7:27am Depressed Gardener wrote:
I'd be happy to pay a £2 but £10 is ridiculous. I think they will see a lot less visitors. Go to Nymans or Standen instead.
On 2 Jun 2014 at 5:34pm chipoff wrote:
The 80000 other visitors who pay to get in on a daily ticket have parking included in the £12.50 entrance. There's been a rush of people buying the annual pass so I don't think Wakehurst will lose out. It's not a bad deal (£25/£30pa) if you go quite often. It wasn't just aimed at National Front members, as other gardens (Heligan etc) who have free access to the garden also have to pay for parking. Yes £10 does seem steep as starting price but maybe they should have started charging at a lesser rate years ago. It's not run as a National Front garden but by Kew unlike Nymans etc
On 2 Jun 2014 at 6:05pm Tim wrote:
Chipoff.......... please read your post again. I love the gardens but I'm not sure they're as appealing to the far right wing.........hopefully. 