Rise Up Central Highlands aims to boost small businesses and enhance the region’s streetscapes
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Posted on February 2, 2023
A new initiative of the council’s Economic Stimulus Framework is launching today. Named ‘Rise Up Central Highlands’, this program provides financial support to commercial business owners and community members wanting to upgrade their business shopfronts or activate underused places.
‘The last few years have been hard on local businesses where any spare funds have been used to pay rents, team members and little has been left for upgrades or a fresh lick of paint,’ said Mayor Kerry Hayes.
‘The goal of this program is to give business owners an extra boost to undertake a facelift which hopefully then translates to increased sales,’ he continued.
‘We can’t wait to see what fresh ideas businesses come up with to revitalise our region’s town centres.’
Another important part of the Rise Up campaign is supporting the activation of some of our unused spaces. In a first for the region, a placemaking grant will be open to support business and community members to bring to life spaces whether that might be a temporary pop-up event or new artwork.
The program has established three different grant streams and/or 1 rebate towards development fees and charges.
The three grant streams are as follows:
Historical upgrade – for restoration projects on buildings with historical significance (up to $10,000)Façade upgrade – for streetside visual improvements (up to $2,000)Placemaking – for creating spaces where people can gather (up to $,2000)The fees and charges rebate is a continuation of council’s commitment to encourage new development that attracts new jobs and facilitates investment needed in our region by reducing up-front costs.
The grants are now open for applications via chrc.smartygrants.com.au until March 30.
To seek further clarification, visit the council’s webpage on the Economic Stimulus Framework here, or call council on 1300 242 686.
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