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    Barkly Street, Ararat.

Façade funding for Ararat shops

Funding applications have opened again for more Ararat district  business owners keen to give their business façades a facelift.

Ararat Rural City Council had a successful Façades Improvement Grants Scheme last year and is keen to do more.

The council provides grants of up to $5000 on a dollar-for-dollar basis for Ararat businesses to maintain or refresh the municipality’s shopfronts. In this round of grants it has budgeted $50,000. 

Council chief executive Tim Harrison said he was pleased to see the scheme return for 2020.



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“In such a difficult and uncertain year, schemes such as this allow for us to focus on the positive things and help lift the spirit of our local businesses, which might be having an especially difficult time,” he said.

“Our 2019 recipients put these funds to great use, freshening up their paint, updating their signs or just for some maintenance and repairs.”

A council panel will assess all applications and Dr Harrison will notify all that are successful.

A wide range of businesses across the municipality are eligible. The council has encouraged any with a street frontage to apply.

Applications open today and close on October 30.

All eligibility and application requirements are available through Ararat Rural City Council website, ararat.vic.gov.au.

The entire August 5, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!