The Lismore Regional Art Gallery is to receive a $1.675 million makeover as it is rebuilt after the February 2022 big flood.

There is a DA (development application) in Lismore City Council's application tracker for alterations and additions to the Lismore Regional Art Gallery to create an open-plan reception and gallery shop area and a new artist studio, which includes toilet amenities. 

The DA seeks (in part) to convert the approved artist workshop at the western end of the building into the gallery café and provide a new artist studio on the northern side of the building. This will occur via the enclosure of an existing undercroft area. 

The diagram below illustrates the plan with the studio spaces shown in yellow and the café shown in pink.  

The DA says the former workshop space (to be converted to the café) has an area of 43m2, while the new workshop area has a floor area of 74.5m2 (excluding additional toilets). This is a minor increase in floor area of 31.5m2. 

The Gross Floor Area (GFA) of the existing approved Gallery was 1206.1m2. Of this, the studio spaces comprised a total of 131.1m2 or 10.86% of the total floor area. 

The current proposal increases the total GFA to 1290.66m2, of which the studio space comprises 159.87m2. This equates to 12.38% of the total floor area.  

The studio spaces are marginally larger than previously approved, but they remain a minor component of the overall development.  

The artist's studio space serves the gallery land use by providing an area for artists to work, educate and create. As discussed above, the dominant activity on the site is an art gallery. The artist studios are an integral component of the gallery. They are managed by Gallery Staff and do not function as separate business entities.  

Lismore City Council has acknowledged a conflict of interest in processing its own DA, and has outlined an approval process:

The DA is classified as a ‘Standard DA’ to be assessed by statutory planning staff not involved in the preparation of the DA and then peer-reviewed by G Snow (Manager of Planning and Environment) and then determined by Eber Butron (Chief Community Officer). 

The Lismore Regional Art Gallery's ground floor is 8.8m, the second floor 12.35m, and the pitching point 15.75m.