Preet Kaur Gill MP hails over £9 million National Lottery heritage funding for Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Preet Kaur Gill MP
Jul 17
3 min read

Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston has welcomed the news that Birmingham Botanical Gardens has been awarded £9.075 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund towards its major restoration, Growing Our Green Heritage to preserve a nationally significant historic botanic garden.

The funding means that the Botanical Gardens now have over 90% of the funding in place, and means that over the next 4.5 years, this landmark project will restore the Gardens’ historic Grade II listed glasshouses, enhance visitor infrastructure and amenities, improve sustainability and expand public access to education, horticulture, heritage and nature in this unique green space. It will increase public understanding of the importance of plant biodiversity to life on Earth and share the importance of plants to people, our places and the planet.

The local MP Preet Kaur Gill supported the bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund by writing to them in February 2025. In her letter she wrote:

“It is one of the UK’s most important historic Botanic Gardens and is woven into Birmingham’s richly diverse cultural history and way of life. […] It is a unique resource for learning, for health and well-being and for public engagement with plant science and the environmental issues we face as a society. The preservation and future prosperity of Birmingham Botanical Gardens is of immense local significance and value to Birmingham and the whole Midlands’ region.”

Responding to the news of the £9 million award, Preet Kaur Gill MP, said:

“I am delighted to see this investment coming to such a wonderfully important heritage asset.

“The difference this money will make to the gardens, and to the wider city of Birmingham cannot be understated.

“For this reason, I was more than happy to work with and write a letter of support for the bid. I am extremely grateful to everyone at the Botanical Gardens, and I would like to thank everyone I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with. It is their passion and enthusiasm to preserve our gardens that shone through this bid.

“It’s so important our community has a space like this to engage with plants, biodiversity and our heritage, to better understand our shared environment and enjoy the restorative power of nature. With over 90% of the funding now in place, I encourage those who care about the Gardens to help them finally close the gap!”

Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Chair, Sue Beardsmore said:

“Our uniquely biodiverse natural environment is one of the UK’s most significant historic botanic gardens and part of Birmingham and the West Midlands’, richly diverse cultural history and way of life. This safe, peaceful space is part of the green heart of Birmingham and a hugely treasured place to the city, the West Midlands region and its communities.

“With The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s grant, together with generous pledges of support (£8m) from The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust, The Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust and others, we can now preserve this historic estate, nursery and iconic glasshouses for future generations

“We are immensely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this unique opportunity to restore an important part of Birmingham’s heritage, champion biodiversity and the environment, and reconnect people with nature. As we approach our Bicentenary, we can now ensure that BBG, the unique Living Collection and tangible and intangible heritage of this ‘miracle green space’ can be researched, shared and enjoyed by everyone for the next 200 years.”

The National Lottery Heritage Fund and collective support mark a turning point in the Gardens’ 190-year history. It will resolve critical infrastructure issues and offers the opportunity of a generation to remedy fundamental threats to BBG’s survival, recalibrating its position as a leading botanic garden in the UK.

ENDS