For the fourth year running, the Local Heritage Assistance Fund has successfully assisted Blue Mountains heritage property owners to look after their heritage buildings.
Thanks to an injection of funding from the NSW Government, the fund will be continuing for a further two years, with applications now open.
This year's funding totalling $11,000 was distributed to six property owners for minor conservation works. The fund was open to individually listed heritage items and contributory properties in heritage conservation areas. It also provided the opportunity for owners of publicly accessible buildings to provide long-term care for their heritage properties.
"This year's Fund assisted several initiatives, including helping the owners of the Savoy/Trocadero in Katoomba to prepare a Conservation Management Strategy. This will help guide the future of this significant site and assist with the future use of the building," Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill said.
"Another successful project was the renewal of a street-facing roof plane to the Lyttleton Stores in Lawson, built in 1884."
Lyttleton Stores is a community focal point as well as a historic landmark, with its not-for-profit co-op providing services to the community including fresh food and artisan workshops, perpetuating the original use of the building as a local store over a 140-year lifespan.
Council contributed to the cost of significant repairs to the roof, which was leaking into the shop areas and damaging original timber lined ceilings. Council's heritage team helped with advice on materials and details to ensure the roof retained its historic character.
The owners of the Stores have now replaced the roof sheets with new plain galvanised sheets to match historic details, ensuring not just watertight shop interiors, but also that the historic look of this landmark building is preserved.
One of the owners of the Lyttleton Stores building, Erst Carmichael, expressed her satisfaction with the outcome, noting the roof "looks wonderful and has added to the heritage beauty of the streetscape".
Other projects funded in this year's round included the reconstruction of a dormer window, which involved reinstating an original finial, repairs to an original window, and repainting shopfronts in heritage colours schemes.
The new round of grants has a total of $15,000 to award, and individual grants will be up to $2,500 each. Funding will be directed towards heritage buildings that are either listed as local heritage items or are within heritage conservation areas in the Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan.
Priority will be given to minor conservation works to buildings that are located within the main streets of town and village centres, and/or will provide a public benefit to the community, such as improvements to enhance the building's façade or exterior of the building.
Consideration will also again be given to the preparation of strategic heritage documents, such as conservation management strategies or heritage interpretation plans, for important heritage buildings under threat or in exceptional circumstances.
Applications close 5pm Monday 11 September 2023. More information is available at bmcc.nsw.gov.au/LHAF.
