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Popular grant program runs out on regional district

A provincial grant program is no longer available to the Strathcona Regional District

A provincial grant program that helped fund projects such as the skate park, the seawalk, and the cruise ship terminal is no longer available to the Strathcona Regional District.

Noba Anderson, regional director for Cortes Island, said the Coast Sustainability Trust, which has provided the area with millions of dollars for several improvement projects, has run its course.

“The Comox-Strathcona portion of the CST funds have now all been entirely allocated,” said Anderson, the regional district’s representative to Coast Sustainability Trust. “Unless some projects withdraw or do not complete their work and funds are therefore either not distributed or withheld, the work of our steering committee is finished.”

The Comox Strathcona steering committee is one of five formed under the grant program, and represents both the Comox Valley and Strathcona regional districts. The purpose of the steering committees is to ensure that projects funded by Coast Sustainability Trust are local priorities and have regional support.

The trust was established in 2002 by the B.C. government with $35 million to mitigate adverse impacts from provincial government land use decisions.

Since its inception, the trust has supported projects in the Comox Strathcona region to the tune of $4.1 million. Projects also required matching funds from local governments.

Grants have supported INFilm, the Thunderbird RV Park, improvements to the Tidemark Theatre, Sybil Andrews Cottage restorations and the Heriot Bay Harbour Improvement project.