Rosemaur Gallery in Harkaway approved despite community opposition

Despite strong opposition from the local community, a new Victorian gallery featuring a rare art collection will be built in Melbourne’s southeast.

The state government has given the green light for the $50 million Rosemaur Gallery to be developed at Harkaway.

A new Victorian art gallery that will house the $500 million private collection of a Melbourne billionaire has been approved despite community opposition.

The state government has given the green light for the $50 million Rosemaur Gallery to be developed at Harkaway, 39 km southeast of Melbourne.

The move clears the way for billionaire manufacturing magnate Lindsey Hogg to display his collection of up of 150 works by artists such as Sidney Nolan, Brett Whiteley, Francis Bacon and Gustav Klimt to the public.

The approved plans include a function centre, 150-seat fine dining restaurant, nature sanctuary, extensive gardens and on-site accommodation for visiting artists and gallery staff.

When complete, the new precinct is expected to attract 1500 visitors a week in peak periods and up to 2500 visitors during major events.

The art gallery is expected to feature $500 million of artwork.

The government on Monday confirmed planning approval had been granted for the gallery which will display an internationally significant collection of artworks.

“This exciting new development will continue to cement Victoria as the cultural capital of Australia,’’ the government said in a statement.

“This world class gallery will be home to works form world-renowned artists.’’

Mr Hogg, 82, will dedicate Rosemaur to his immigrant parents Rose and Maurice.

He was desperate to put possibly Australia’s largest private art collection on show at the Harkaway site due to close family ties to the area and had threatened to display it outside Victoria if the development was rejected.

But a petition by opposition group Friends of Harkaway, concerned about traffic, attracted 1200 signatures and more than 500 submissions were made at public hearings on the proposal last year.

Now the government has confirmed the development can go ahead, with a requirement that art be displayed for a minimum of 40 weeks per year and in perpetuity.

Artworks likely to hang in the gallery include paintings from Nolan’s famous Ned Kelly series and Whiteley’s The Jacaranda Tree (On Sydney Harbour), which set an Australian record when Mr Hogg bought it for $1.98m in 1999.

Mr Hogg chose Harkway due to close family ties to the area.

Strict environmental controls have been attached to the gallery approval to mitigate any potential impacts associated with a development of its scale in a designated Green Wedge zone.

The proposal was supported by Casey Council for its capacity to generate economic benefit for the region “as a high-quality tourism destination and cultural asset”.

About 100 jobs are expected to be created during construction of the project.

Another 150 jobs will be ongoing once its operational.

Mr Hogg last year told the Herald Sun he was surprised by the protracted planning dispute.

“If this exercise has taught me anything it’s that it’s far easier to spend money than give it away,’’ he said.

He said the collection would be protected in a charitable trust to ensure it was made available to the people of Victoria.

“I don’t believe the public have had the opportunity to view such works in a single collection by modern British, European and Australian masters ever before and certainly not in Australia,” he said.