Dundee University to close nursery and botanic garden in bid to save £20m

Dundee University will close its nursery and plans to shut the botanic garden as part of efforts to save £20m.

The institution is currently operating at a loss of around £2m a month and has opened a third round of a voluntary redundancy scheme with the aim of cutting a further 190 jobs.

More than 600 people have lost their jobs since the institution began cost-cutting in August 2024.

The university said it had been an “exceptionally difficult decision” to close the nursery but that it had become “unsustainable”.

“The Board has spent many months carefully reviewing the Nursery’s future and exploring all realistic options to secure its long-term sustainability,” a statement said.

“However, after extensive consideration, we have concluded that there is no viable option that would allow the service to continue operating in a financially sustainable manner.”

Dundee University is also proposing to stop running the botanic garden.

A spokesperson said it was exploring “alternative options” for its future.

Nigel Seaton has conceded that continued job uncertainty for his staff is not fair STV News

A third round of the voluntary redundancy scheme was announced on Tuesday.

Professor Nigel Seaton, interim principal and vice-chancellor, said the number of people working at the university had reduced by 675 between August 2024 and May 2026.

But unions believe this number will be significantly higher.

“We have informed staff that we are moving into collective consultation on proposals to reduce staffing by around 190 posts, split equally across our academic and professional services communities,” Professor Seaton said.

“Over the last 18 months we have taken vigorous action to address our financial situation, including two rounds of voluntary severance, introducing tighter financial controls, freezing non-essential recruitment and limiting our operational expenditure.”

Previously, Professor Seaton told STV News he has not yet worked out what size workforce the university would be able to sustain in the long term.