Applications are open for commercial entities affected by silt from Cyclone Gabrielle to apply for financial support.

The $7.4m funding from Central Government enables businesses in Tairāwhiti to process and dispose of sediment and debris on commercial properties.

Council’s Group Manager Recovery Anita Reedy-Holthausen welcomes the funding and says with an estimated five million cubic metres of silt on orchards, farms, roads and properties, it will be put to good use.

“We know this isn’t going to cover everyone’s costs for silt removal,” says Ms Reedy-Holthausen. “So many businesses and organisations have been impacted, and we will be prioritising the funding based on those who find it most difficult to recover without assistance.”

“This fund is to pay for services for cleaning up and managing silt and debris. It is not to pay for buying equipment such as diggers and tractors.”

The eligibility criteria has been set by Government. Commercial entities will be able to access a grant of up to $40,000 (GST exclusive), depending on whether they have previously received any other grands and funds. They may also be eligible for up to $210,000 (GST exclusive) for reimbursement on a 50:50 cost share basis.

Applications for the first tranche of $2.5m are open from Monday 17 July and will close 4 August. Tranche two has another $2m available and will run August 21-September 15, with tranche three, which has $3m, open from October 2-October 20.

Hui are planned for the coming weeks and assistance will be given to those who need guiding through the process.

“Even though we have allocated funding per tranche we will be flexible across tranches depending on the uptake by applicants,” says Ms Reedy Holthausen.

“We’re aware that we may not have seen the last of these extreme weather events and we continue to campaign Government for more funding to help our region get back on its feet, and that won’t change.”

There are also other sources of funding support for commercial entities and you can keep up to date through the information on the website gdc.govt.nz or the Government’s recovery website Cyclone Recovery Unit .

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