The art gallery was pushed for and approved last year, but with the land next to the Visitor's Centre now no longer allocated for the rose garden, it's being widely thought of as the ideal position for the new building.

Rhonda Miranda has been leading the charge on the new gallery, along with a dedicated team of enthusiasts. She said that she was pleased to hear the news.

"It was excellent to hear. It all sort of started with an art exhibition last November, I got to see the working conditions the staff were under ... I felt quite sorry for them under the circumstances," she said.

She went on to explain that the gallery would hopefully come with some immediate benefits to the surrounding area as well, explaining some ideas that the team had had.

"We put a lot of thought into it, the visitor's centre needs upgrading as well. It could maybe be a bit more of a welcoming place. Combined with the gallery, it could have a nice little cafe nearby," she said. She was quick to add that the project was in it's early stages, and the team was still brainstorming.

"There's quite a collection the gallery owns but they can't display it because they don't have the room. This gallery is going to be purpose-built to have a permanent display, we've got a lot of ideas to look at."

Of course, not everyone is a winner. Councillor Dino Zappacosta who originally posed the idea of the civic gardens said that he was disappointed but is looking ahead.

"My philosophy has always been that it's better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all," he said.

"It was part of my vision. When you're on council, you should have a vision and sometimes you have to combat negativism. I've done my bit and i'll keep doing it."

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Cr Zappacosta continued and said that he would be interested in contributing to the Memorial Park Gardens upgrades that have now got an extra $200,000 to put towards it.

"I always thought the gardens should enhance the main street, so I certainly will put my hand up and see what I can do towards developing Memorial Park. It's part of my vision just like my vision for the civic gardens."

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