'Not going to happen in a hurry': Decision made on new art gallery design

But councillors have warned residents not to expect to see a new gallery any time soon with the project reliant on external funding, and in the current economic climate money "would not fall out of the sky".

With two designs on the table, the decision on which concept the council should pursue was made by just over 150 people. They were the small number of the city's 35,000 residents who bothered to have a say.

After the community rejected a move to Cannon Hill, and the business case found it would be too costly, The council opted to spend more money on re-imagining the art gallery at its current site.

A number of options were presented to the community late last year but the council's consultation found the majority of those who responded favoured a design that would span from Smith Street to Timor Street.

While the Cannon Hill idea sparked major backlash with 5000 people signing a petition opposing a move, when it came to having a say on how a new art gallery might look next to the Civic Green, just 156 people answered that question on the council survey.

Of those, 102 favoured option 2 which was also the preference of the project team and features a new gallery across three levels as well as basement car parking.

The concept design allows for an expanded First Nations gallery and maximises the potential for public programs, exhibitions and food and beverage opportunities.

The other option - which was largely contained to the current footprint - was favoured by just 54 people.

More people responded to the council's survey questions about whether they thought the current site was suitable for a redeveloped art gallery.

Of the 212 responses, 165 said it was. Councillors voted unanimously on Monday, February 5, 2024 to endorse the preliminary business case.

Chief executive officer Andrew Mason said the business case effectively meant the council now had a tool to pursue external funding for the project.

"I don't think we're under any illusions that this is a project that can be funded by council alone," Mr Mason said.

He said it would require "significant" state and federal funding and could be "quite some time away" given the economic climate.

"At least we've got an idea of what we want to do..." he said.

Cr Debbie Arnott said it would not be something that "rises very quickly out of the dust". "We are looking very far into the future," she said.

She warned the council was reliant on state and federal funding to get the project off the ground.

But Cr Arnott said the favoured concept plan was a good use of the space.

Mayor Ben Blain said the business case had finally been completed. "The art gallery is definitely staying on the Civic Green," he said. Cr Blain said the preferred design was a "really exciting change to the space".

Cr Vicki Jellie said the "money's not going to fall out of the sky" for the project.

"It won't be funded by Warrnambool City Council fully ... it's going to take a long time to come to fruition," she said.

Councillors said the feedback from the community showed there was support for a new art gallery.

Cr Richard Ziegeler said it was great there was more than 200 responses to the council's survey for a new gallery.

"It's not going to happen in a hurry. It gives us direction to pursue funding," he said.