Kew Gardens has welcomed the restoration of £1.5 million government funding but said it will not 'fully resolve' the huge financial shortfall it has been addressing.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced yesterday the government had reversed its decision to cut the venue's annual grant by £1.5m for this financial year.

His announcement, made at the RSPB's State of Nature conference, comes after more than 100,000 people signed an online petition backed by Sir David Attenborough opposing the reduction.

"Kew is one of the most important scientific and environmental institutions in the world. That is why I am so pleased to announce today that I have secured £1.5 million to maintain government funding for Kew Gardens until at least April 2015 so its vital work can continue," he said.

"This is something that I know a lot of people have been campaigning for and is a significant step towards protecting the future of our environment."

The funding pledge was welcomed by Kew Gardens, which announced back in March that it planned to cut some 125 posts - a sixth of its workforce - to address a £5m shortfall in its 2014/15 budget.

However, Richard Deverell, director of the tourist destination and research hub, said it would not fully address the funding gap, which had been blamed on rising costs and reduced funding from its charitable partner the Kew Foundation as well as the cut in its government grant.

"We welcome this government recognition of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's importance and the value of our work. In recent months we have been actively articulating this," he said.

"This funding will go some way to assist us in achieving the transition to a sustainable future for Kew. However, it will not fully resolve the original £5m gap we identified in our budget for 14/15 that we have been managing.

"We are committed to continuing to grow our self-generated income and managing our cost base so that we can put Kew on a firm financial footing and ensure that our science and education programmes will continue to make an impact in the areas where they are needed most."

A spokeswoman for Kew Gardens said the job cuts were still necessary to ensure the garden's long-term financial security.

getwestlondon has asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) when a decision is due on the UNESCO World Heritage Site's funding for 2015/16 and beyond. It is awaiting a response.