Heritage Properties
Big Investment in Heritage Properties
On February 26 2009, heritage minister Bill Bennett announced $8.1 in new money for the province’s system of historic sites known as the Heritage Properties.
In the Fall 2008 issue of Heritage BC Quarterly, we looked at a 2007 study of the state of the Heritage Properties. Things were not in good shape, said the consultants’ report, and could not be expected to get better without a major infusion of cash to fix a backlog of work, and a significant increase in the provincial government’s contribution to the costs of annual operations.The report was well received by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, which is responsible for the Heritage Properties, but by the time report recommendations had been converted into government action a year later, the window of opportunity had been firmly closed by the global economic meltdown.
However, as the government’s fiscal year was drawing to a close the heritage minister was able to come up with a significant cash infusion. As this money was scraped together from the remains of the 2008-09 budget, it had to be moved out to the dozen sites by March 31 2009.
According to the Heritage Branch, the funding is being used for maintenance and conservation. The allocation of funds to individual sites was determined by the intent to obtain an equitable division that would keep all the sites viable. Not surprisingly, Barkerville and Fort Steele are the big winners, receiving more than 80 per cent of the total. This is consistent with the 2007 study which identified basic infrastructure investments at these sites (water and sewer) as top priorities. Five other sites – Hat Creek Ranch, Point Ellice House, Kilby General Store, the Grist Mill at Keremeos, and Cottonwood House – received $225,000, while $75,000 went to each of Emily Carr House, Craigflower Manor, Craigflower School, and Historic Yale. Cole Island in Esquimalt Harbour, accessible to the public but not operational, received $25,000 which will be used by a Friends organization.
Read the related article about Cole Island
» Cole Island
