Local community groups with an upcoming project should check if they qualify for council funding, as the August round of grants is open.

Funds are available across three categories: Heritage, Trail Maintenance and Creative Communities.

Ashburton District Deputy Mayor Liz McMillan said the grants are a way for Council to support a range of initiatives throughout the district that help to make Mid Canterbury a great place to live.

“Earlier this year Council gave out just over $300,000 to 87 community groups and sports teams, but there were some surplus funds in some of the grant categories that we’d also like to distribute.

“The heritage fund, for example, still has about $16,000 in it so we’d love to see some applications for projects that aim to protect, maintain or restore heritage.”

The heritage fund supports specialised maintenance that preserves or restores the heritage state of a building or heritage item.

Ms McMillan said heritage grants given out earlier this year were helping preservation work at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and on the 116-year-old Catholic presbytery building on Sealy Street.

“We also allocated funds to the owners of some of our district’s special heritage homes, like Longbeach Estate and Coldstream Homestead.”

The trail maintenance fund helps maintain and enhance local walking and cycling trails.

The Creative Communities fund is administered by Council on behalf of the New Zealand Creative Communities Scheme and will be $17,850 – the scheme supports projects that increase opportunities for local participation and engagement in the arts, whether you’re making a movie, producing a play or hosting an exhibition.

Applications will be open 1-31 August, and will go through an assessment process. Successful applicants will be awarded their funding in October.

To learn more about the grants, criteria and to apply, visit ashburtondc.govt.nz/grants.