Dulwich Picture Gallery will build a brand new gallery for children after arguing it was vital for its long-term financial future.
At a planning committee meeting on Tuesday, July 18, the award-winning gallery warned that it was “running at a loss”.
It is hoped that the Children’s Picture Gallery, built on the grounds outside the main gallery, will attract schoolchildren from across the borough, and help secure more grant funding.
Planning officers had advised councillors to refuse permission because it would result in a 1 per cent loss of Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) but, in an unusual move, councillors rebuffed the officers’ recommendation.
Speaking in favour of the Children’s Picture Gallery, Dulwich Village ward’s Cllr Richard Leeming said: “It will allow the DPG (Dulwich Picture Gallery) to significantly expand its programme of school visits far beyond the immediate vicinity of Dulwich.”
He warned that refusing permission would mean the DPG would have to “reduce free community services, reduce the days the gallery is open” and “cut jobs”.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Nick Johnson said: “The gallery does need to find a long-term solution to its finances. If we are to believe what has been said, that this returns the gallery to a small operating profit, I think that is a significant consideration.”
The new Children’s Picture Gallery, aimed at under-eights, will be built on the grounds outside The DPG, beside the Gallery Cottage.
The new gallery will have big “inviting” circular windows and provide an “art-play space” displaying work from the main collection.
At the meeting, Chantelle Culshaw, Deputy Director at The DPG, warned councillors about the gallery’s dire financial position.
“Unlike other museums, we don’t receive regular government or council funding so we need to generate our own income,” she said.
“But like all community arts organisations, we’re currently being squeezed and every year it gets harder to break even and we’re currently running at a loss.”
The Children’s Picture Gallery will increase revenue through school visits and, by attracting a more “diverse” range of visitors, could make it easier to secure grant funding.
Councillors did express concern about the loss of MOL which, like green belt land, is afforded the highest protection against development.
But new buildings can be built on MOL in “exceptional circumstances” if they contribute to the quality and accessibility of the open space.
DPG argued that the new building would increase the amount of MOL open to the public by 35 per cent, while the building itself would result in just a 1 per cent loss of MOL.
A single-storey extension will also be added to the Grade-II listed Gallery Cottage, providing a lunchroom for schools, a family cafe and a shop.
Planning officers had found that the harm caused to the building’s heritage was “less than substantial” and outweighed by the extension’s public benefits.
Cllr Leeming noted that not a single Dulwich Villager, a demographic normally “quick” to object to applications, had come to speak against the proposals.
Councillors voted in favour of the Children’s Picture Gallery by five votes to two.
Councillors unanimously voted in favour of the extension to the Gallery Cottage.
