With Ballarat's businesses getting ready to open back up permanently as the state approaches its vaccination targets, the City of Ballarat could shift focus and reallocate the remainder of its $1 million business support package.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At Wednesday night's council meeting, councillors will vote on changes to the support package aimed at providing more outdoor activation for businesses.
The $1 million support package was endorsed by council at the August council meeting with businesses affected by the pandemic and restrictions to receive a one-off $500 grant while community groups would receive $250.
However, council officers said with applications due to close this Friday, the uptake for the grants had not been as strong as anticipated with less than $250,000 given in grants to this point.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOUR SAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY
Council officers have recommended the remaining $750,000 be spread across a series of support measures, with $100,000 to continue the grants program and $135,000 to continue the rollout of outdoor dining infrastructure such as wind barriers and umbrella sockets.
Another $75,000 is proposed to be spent on a summer tourism marketing campaign, $300,000 on a pop-up outdoor performance space to be used by organisations such as dance schools, Royal South Street and even major events, and $140,000 on a program of local music and performances in outdoor spaces across Ballarat.
Council officers have also suggested the money could be used to create temporary outdoor dining areas around Ballarat as well as permanent streetscape works to create further opportunities for outdoor dining.
Council will also be eligible for additional state government funding of just shy of $1 million through its recently announced COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The reallocated funds are in addition to the state government funding and council's existing outdoor dining infrastructure program.
A council survey issued to businesses, for which 60 per cent of respondents were from the hospitality industry, revealed businesses wanted more outdoor dining space and needed solutions urgently.
City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King said the reallocated funds would help businesses trade in a post-COVID environment where outdoor activation is 'incredibly important'.
"How you can utilise space out the front of shops, how you can utilise laneways and car parks and all those sorts of components become really important and we want to play our part," he said.
"We've been rolling out a program of windbreaks and umbrella sockets around businesses so that they can have on-street trading and protect people from the elements a little bit, so we want to allocate $135,000 to further enhance that program.
"We're putting $300,000 towards activating outdoor pop-ups with a whole range of activities, from having a large screen and bean bags to having performances and singers and musicians and all those sorts of things, to really create that vibrant environment that gets people out and about buying food and ice creams and drinks and enjoying everything that Ballarat has to offer."
Mr King said while the full $1 million would not be required to be delivered as grants, the remaining funding would help businesses take advantage of whatever outdoor space was available.
"The business and community grants were about emergency grants to those really suffering financially to now saying, as we're coming out of lockdown, how do we support businesses to prosper in an environment where you still have some restrictions on how many people you can have indoors and outdoors and those sorts of things," he said.
"Just tweaking it. As restrictions change, there's the need to provide different support at different times. While you're in a lockdown, people need funds to pay the bills, now what they need is support to be able to trade and take advantage of open space for their businesses."
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.