Council provides monetary grants to owners of heritage listed items and properties in heritage conservation areas for completed conservation or maintenance works that will improve the heritage value of their property. This might include the restoration and/or reinstatement of missing or dilapidated original features, such as fences, porches, verandahs, brickwork, and decorative details.
Approval of Local Heritage Fund grant applications is subject to availability of funding, satisfying eligibility criteria, and consideration of the priority of applications received.
There have been some recent changes to the operation of the fund. The maximum amount has been increased from $3,300 to $5,000 at the retained ratio of 25% of the value of the work. A new provision has been made for new discretionary payments, capped up to $10,000 per application, at a ratio of 50% of the value of the completed work, where work is necessary to prevent any serious or irreparable damage or further deterioration to a heritage property.
For example, if a heritage property owner undertook eligible improvement works to their property that cost $5,000, they could then apply for a grant of $1,250 (i.e. 25% of $5,000). If a heritage property owner undertook emergency works to prevent serious damage to their property that cost $30,000, they could then apply for a discretionary payment of $10,000 (i.e. 50% of $30,000, but capped at an upper limit of $10,000).
