Page 1262 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 11 April 2018
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MS CODY: Minister, can you provide more detail to the Assembly on the priority areas for the heritage grants program this year?
MR GENTLEMAN: I can, yes. Priority will be given to projects that focus on places or objects listed on or nominated to the heritage register. The priority areas for the 2017-18 grants program are projects that prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. For the 2018-19 program round only, applications are invited that celebrate and promote this important event and the role that the ACT played in the international space program.
Conservation works and projects that enable the continued use of and access to places entered on the ACT heritage register are also a priority. This can include repairs to significant fabric, stabilisation of a building or improvements to public access, safety and visibility. Funding is available for the reinstatement of original features such as exterior render, front facades or windows visible from the street. The amount applied for should be matched by the applicant. Funding is not available for new buildings, additions or routine maintenance such as painting, pest control or electrical works.
Conservation management plans also can be funded for places or objects that do not have an existing plan that is approved by the ACT Heritage Council and is not more than five years old. Conservation management plans guide conservation works and management actions.
There is also the opportunity to look at community projects that increase the utilisation, awareness and engagement in heritage places through education—of all ages—oral histories, tourism, interpretation and events, and Aboriginal projects initiated by or involving the local Aboriginal community in local heritage activities. Also covered are projects that provide partnership opportunities between community organisations and ACT government agencies.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, can you provide some examples of previous projects supported by an ACT government heritage grant and outline how the projects contributed to the promotion and protection of heritage in the territory?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Ms Cheyne for her informative question. I will give some examples from the 2017-18 programs. The National Trust of Australia was awarded a grant for their Urban Polaris project. That was a seven-hour navigating and cycling event where teams of two had to find their way around a series of control points spread throughout Canberra. The National Trust has adapted the concept by incorporating Canberra’s rich heritage, both built and natural, and other points of interest as checkpoint sites. The Giralang Primary School P&C were awarded a grant for an event to celebrate the heritage values of the school on its 40th birthday. The Southern ACT Catchment Group were awarded a grant for the protection and restoration of the nominated canoe scar trees in the Lanyon Homestead precinct. The Uniting Church were awarded a grant for the restoration of the Reid Uniting Church roof.
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