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RHS calls for compensation as A3/M25 roadworks cause devastating financial impact on charity

The ongoing A3/M25 roadworks have caused huge losses to funding for vital RHS projects in science research, community outreach and education

With 350,000 fewer people visiting RHS Garden Wisley annually due to the National Highways A3/M25 roadworks, resulting in £6 million losses to date, we’re calling on Government intervention for compensation to enable vital science, community and education projects, now at risk, to proceed.

Losses will rise to £11 million when the roadworks end in 2026; substantial for a gardening charity, but small change compared to the £317 million scheme.
 
Due to the financial losses we are now delaying the development of new arboretums at our RHS Gardens and the planting of 4,000 trees to investigate climate resilience for the next century; significantly reducing funding for our scientific research to find nature-based solutions to some of the UK’s biggest environmental challenges; cutting back on our community outreach work and look at training 10% fewer work-based student horticulturists over the next 2 years.

Nearly 80% of members who visited RHS Wisley less frequently in the last 12 months attributed this to the M25/A3 roadworks near the garden. Additionally, 63% of non-visiting members in this period attributed not visiting RHS Wisley for the same reason.*
 
We and one of the UK’s best-loved gardeners Alan Titchmarsh CBE are now calling on everyone who values horticulture and gardens for a greener, healthier future to sign our petition urging Government to recognise RHS Wisley as a special case for compensation for the devastating losses caused by the National Highways roadworks to safeguard the RHS and its vital charitable work for the future.
 

Alan Titchmarsh backs call for compensation

RHS Vice President Alan Titchmarsh CBE shares the impact of A3/M25 roadworks from RHS Wisley
Alan Titchmarsh CBE, RHS Vice President said: “With the £6 million losses, the RHS could have created 15 NHS wellbeing gardens and brought gardening and nature to hundreds more schools across the UK. £6 million would also fund 110 horticultural apprenticeships or 38 science PhD students supported by 76 UK leading scientists to find nature-based solutions to help issues like pollution, flooding, and the biodiversity and the climate crises.”

“These losses are catastrophic not only for the RHS, but for the whole of the UK in terms of the incredible work the RHS does to help people and planet and educating and supporting millions of gardeners to garden more sustainably for a better future.”
 
“Unlike others that failed before it, this Government must recognise the importance of horticulture, of gardeners and of the immense positive benefits gardens, gardening and growing plants can have on our health, the environment, wildlife and biodiversity to safeguard the future for generations to come.”
 
“Every gardener, everyone who loves gardening and everyone who loves RHS Garden Wisley, one of our finest gardens, please sign our petition and stand up for our nation of gardeners.”
 
Given to the RHS in 1903, RHS Garden Wisley is a unique place of historical and horticultural value. With one of the world’s largest plant collections, with over 25,000 different species, it is our oldest and most horticulturally diverse RHS Garden, where today hundreds of students are trained and over a million visitors normally enjoy the garden each year.
 
RHS Director General, Clare Matterson CBE said: “The Highways compensation laws are complicated and unlikely to enable the RHS to recoup these devastating losses. If there was ever a special case for compensation surely RHS Wisley stands out as a national treasure that needs to be upheld and prized and our vital charitable work to be protected.”

“While we’re grateful for the new road and the positive difference it is now beginning to make following months of disruption, going back to our original objections it continues to be a flawed solution that increases car miles around J10 by some 1 million kilometres per annum, affecting the Special Protection Area**. We continue to believe circular routing could have been avoided, saving these increased car miles, by creating slip roads off the A3.”

“At the time of granting consent to the scheme, the Secretary of State reviewing the Planning Inspectors decision assessed that the RHS had a case, but that we were overstating the heritage and economic harm, and that it would be short lived and insubstantial. Today we can now evidence that the harm is exactly as we predicted.”
 
Roadworks on the A3 began in September 2022 and will finish in 2026
The A3/M25 works began in September 2022, since then there have been dozens of road closures and significant disruption and traffic issues for visitors getting to RHS Garden Wisley, dramatically reducing visitor numbers to the garden. 
 
The £6 million losses to date include nearly £1 million impact on RHS membership income. Since September 2022, there has been an overall 25% reduction in visitors at RHS Wisley, severely impacting gate admissions and secondary income.
 
During M25 junction or slip road closures, RHS Garden Wisley received 43% less visitors compared to both the previous weekends, and the same weekend the prior year. 
 
Our autumn Festival of Flavours event was cancelled in 2023 due to roadworks, resulting in a £50k loss, and when the event returned in 2024 visitor numbers were down by 34% compared to 2022. The trend continues with RHS Wisley Flower Show achieving 31% less visitors in 2024 vs 2022, and our winter illumination event RHS Glow was down by 50% in visitors in 2024 vs 2022, resulting in £360k loss in income.
 
The A3 work was due to be completed in summer 2025, but is now set to run to the end of the year, with final completion in 2026. The delays will prolong the effect on RHS Wisley, taking several years for RHS membership to recover.

“The RHS has been here supporting gardeners for over 220 years, today we now need your help to safeguard this charity for hundreds of years to come,” said Clare Matterson, RHS Director General.

Please note: When clicking on the petition link, you will be taken to an external site to sign the petition – change.org. While the petition host gives an option to donate to their organisation, the funds do not come to us. You will be governed by both the RHS privacy policy and change.org’s privacy policies.

*Online survey research conducted in October 2024 on behalf of the RHS by Trueology - an independent insight and analytics agency. Wave 6, prompted awareness survey. n=514

**The Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) is a network of heathland sites that covers 8,274 hectares of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey. Within the borough of Guildford, the SPA includes Ockham and Wisley Commons. The SPA provides a habitat for three internationally important bird species; woodlark, nightjar and Dartford warbler. The SPA is protected from adverse effects under European and UK law.
 
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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.