Heritage Assistance Funds

Council’s Heritage Assistance Funds are aimed at local property owners and community groups to restore, repair, promote and interpret the region’s heritage.

Bathurst Region Heritage Fund

The Bathurst Region Heritage Fund provides small grants for the repair and maintenance of older buildings in the region. The program is supported by the NSW Heritage Branch of the Office of Environment and Heritage.

The fund provides grants of up to $5,000 (not exceeding 50% of the value of the project).

NOTE: The fund has a minimum value of works for each project application of $3,000 and only one application per property per grant year.

This local heritage fund has proven to be a popular and very successful grant program offered by Council. Since the grant program commenced in 1996, Council has jointly funded over 830 projects with a value of works completed of over $7.4 Million.

The types of projects that are eligible for funding include external works such as:

• Repainting older buildings, including houses.
• Repairing walls, verandahs, windows or roof plumbing on older buildings.
• Repairing historic fences (note other fencing projects will not be funded).
• Repairing rising/falling damp by proven restoration methods.
• Repairing and conserving older buildings, historic remnants or grave sites.
• Repairing structural components eg underpinning/repointing brickwork.

NOTE: Before you lodge an application for repairs relating to rising/falling damp you must arrange an onsite meeting with Council's Heritage Advisor to discuss the method proposed.

Bathurst CBD Main Street Improvement Fund

The Bathurst CBD Main Street Improvement Fund provides small grants to assist property owners and tenants to improve, repair and maintain buildings within the Bathurst CBD (B3 Zoned properties).

The fund provides grants of up to $10,000 (not exceeding 50% of the value of the project).

NOTE: The fund has a minimum value of works for each project application of $5,000 and only one application per business property per grant year.

This is the 6th year Council has run this program, with a highly successful program run last year. The types of projects that are eligible for funding include external works such as:

• Projects that involve an improvement or the repair, maintenance and reinstatement of missing detail in accordance with the recommendations Council’s Main Street Study.
• Projects within the CBD that activate the CBD streets and encourage more people into the CBD.

It is anticipated projects eligible for funding will include such works as reinstatement or instatement of an appropriate verandah, repairing and/or cleaning brickwork or stonework, appropriate repainting of the façade, removal of obtrusive additions or inappropriate signage, pedestrian improvement and public art/space projects.

Bathurst Region Interpretation Fund

The Bathurst Region Interpretation Fund supports projects that interpret and promote the regions heritage and history including signage, website, local histories, exhibitions and displays. The fund also supports the preparation of conservation management plans for private historic properties and over the next few years will have a focus on projects that interpret local Wiradjuri history and support the commemoration of the bicentenary of the 1824 declaration of Martial Law.

The fund provides grants of up to $5,000 (not exceeding 50% of the value of the project).

NOTE: Only one application per applicant per grant year.