Heritage Resilience and Regeneration Fund

How it works

The Heritage Resilience and Regeneration Fund (HRRF) provides targeted funding to assist owners of heritage buildings to undertake conservation and earthquake strengthening works, where it is unlikely the building would be strengthened without financial assistance.

Funding can be provided for buildings identified in the Wellington City 2024 District Plan as:

• heritage buildings under Schedule 1 – Heritage Buildings, or 
• buildings that contribute to heritage areas under Schedule 3 – Heritage Areas.

We focus on priority earthquake prone areas that contribute to urban regeneration outcomes. 

15% of the fund is reserved for conservation-specific work, while 85% is intended for work related to earthquake strengthening. Earthquake strengthening work can include:

• an initial engineering report or assessment
• the detailed design
• a grant towards actual strengthening work.

Priority areas for HRRF funding

The Council has determined priority areas for HRRF support, based on:

• the heritage values of areas, as set out in the Wellington City District Plan
• whether, in an earthquake, the building is likely to fall on a key transport route with significant vehicle or pedestrian traffic
• the potential for positive and effective impact on the vitality of areas of urban regeneration in the city
• the Council’s infrastructure development projects and work programmes
• the potential for growth as defined in the Spatial Plan for Wellington City.

For the HHRF 2024/25, the following areas will be prioritised for HRRF support:

1. Courtenay Place (Heritage Area)
2. Newtown (Heritage Area)
3. Cuba Street (Heritage Area) 

Council identify priority heritage buildings for seismic strengthening and conservation restoration and then invite owners of these buildings to a preliminary consultation with Council for HRRF support. 

Heritage building owners can also approach the Council directly with requests for HRRF support. Council will assess their building’s eligibility and whether they can be invited to preliminary consultation for potential HRRF support.

Applications 

Applications to the HRRF can only be made upon Council’s invitation, based on the results of the preliminary consultation. 

Applications are lodged in the Council’s funding portal, and must include, at minimum: 

• evidence that the submitted works are supported, if required (e.g. Body Corp AGM, confirmation email from BC Chairperson, etc.);  
• recent (no more than 3 months) quotes for any submitted works, from suitably qualified professionals; 
• evidence that financial resources are available to pay for the submitted works;
• confirmation that no submitted work will start before their application has been granted by the Council, should it be successful.

Where applicable, applicants must declare any other grants or fundings they have been granted for the submitted works.  

Different assessment criteria (110KB PDF) are applied when assessing the applications for either conservation restoration work or seismic strengthening work. 

Applicants are informed by email whether their application has been successful.

Successful applicants must read and sign off the following before 30 June (end of financial year): 

• the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of the HRRF; 
• the specific conditions applying to their grant. 

Grants 

85% of the fund is intended for works related to seismic strengthening where successful strengthening outcomes would be unlikely without assistance. 

A strengthening Grant may consider:

• a Detailed Seismic Assessment;
• a Detailed Seismic Design;
• a grant towards actual Strengthening Work.

15% of the HRRF is reserved for conservation-specific work undertaken in accordance with recognised conservation principles and methods.

The release of fund is subject to the grant holders submitting their final report through the Council’s funding portal for approval. The final report must include:

• evidence that all conditions have been fulfilled; 
• final receipts for all the granted works.  

Past allocations 

Past HRRF allocations (207KB PDF)

The HRRF has replaced the Built Heritage Incentive Fund (BHIF). Learn about some of the projects we've contributed to in the past.