Moving your electricals up above flood zone could be one the projects your business could undertake with funding now offered through Lismore City Council. 

Lismore City Council Deputy Mayor Darlene Cook said eligible small businesses in Lismore’s flood prone areas can apply for up to $25,000 grant funding to help make their businesses flood ready.

“It’s a step toward revitalising our CBD," Ms Cook said. “We know there will be another flood sometime down the track and we want to assist businesses to be more resilient.”

Who can apply?

Ms Cook said the $250,000 NSW Government funding program was open to small business owners employing fewer than 10 employees.

Eligible business premises must be located in the flood-prone urban areas, including the CBD, East Lismore, Girards Hill, North Lismore, South Lismore and Loftville.

“This program is great news for our local businesses which have been struggling since the 2017 flood,” Ms Cook said. "It will support them to undertake improvements and repair damaged infrastructure."

Lion and Lamb marketing agency owner Ryan McCann.

Lion and Lamb CBD business owner ‘excited’ 

Ryan McCann, owner of Lion and Lamb marketing agency in Club Lane said he already has plans for what needs to be done for his business, which is right in the flood zone.

“I was immediately excited about the funding,” he said. “Being on the ground level, we have quite a few projects we’d like to do to mitigate against the next flood – it’s always been a concern. 

“We want to move our electrical systems so we can come back in after a flood, clean up, plug in and get straight back to work.

“We also want to make improvements with new, innovative materials for shop fittings that will be resistant to flood – as well as install modular systems that we can take out. We’s also like to put in some raised platforms to store equipment on.”

Cash flow concerns

Mr McCann said he was still unsure how his business would be able to pay for the improvement works if the grant funding wasn’t paid to the business until after the work was done.

“We are growing fast and have five full time employees, so wage growth is large and we are still building a customer base,” he said.

“Cash flow is always going to be an issue for small businesses that are trying to stay in the CBD, so I’d like to see a direct to vendor payment system introduced as an option with the funding, rather than a progressive payment given later.

"I’d like to see how it’s all going to work.”

Chamber of Commerce asks for flexibility  

Lismore Chamber of Commerce executive officer Emma Wallace said seeing the investment in Lismore CBD revitalisation and upgrade has been high on the wish list of the Lismore business community. 

She said the Chamber was looking forward to seeing the impact of the funding injection on the community and hearing what business operators gained from the opportunity.

However, she expressed concerns over the grant selection criteria and urged Council to cooperate with businesses with regard to the timeframes for completing the work and the Development Approval process.

“Council giving assistance to businesses to make the application process easier is something that is regularly requested from our members,” she said. 

“We’d like to see flexibility on some of the timelines given, due to the border closures making it harder for tradespeople to come to our area.

"Many local tradespeople are already busy rebuilding after the bushfires last year and it could be hard for businesses to get work completed on time within the current grants timeframe."

Emma encouraged business operators to apply for the funding quickly – and to think creatively.

“If we get lots of applications, it will show there is a big need for this assistance in our community," she said.

“You can also reach out to the Chamber and local Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin for assistance or guidance with the application process.”

Ms Cook said the grant program is one of four initiatives identified for implementation utilising an election commitment of $1.5 million from the NSW Government to support Lismore CBD revitalisation.

Applications open today, Wednesday, August 12 and close 4pm Tuesday, September 15.

To apply, or for more information, visit  https://lismore.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-MWJ-33-27-88