HUNTER councils have confirmed they will apply for a share in $15 million to repair parts of flood-damaged Crown land, with one council saying the grants would provide "improved opportunity" if they were extended to include July floods.
The Crown Land Flood Recovery Funding, announced by the NSW Government on Tuesday morning, will be available in grant form to fix parks, playgrounds, reserves, cultural sites, Crown roads, bridges, drains and other relevant structures damaged by flood events in February and March this year.
Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton and Upper Hunter are among the 62 local government areas across the state eligible for the money.
"The February and March flooding events were disastrous for many communities," Lands and Water Minister Kevin Anderson said.
"The record rain caused landslides, erosion, roads to collapse and significant damage from overflowing rivers and creeks."
The Department of Planning and Environment - Crown Lands will allocate the funding based on its assessment of applications.
Emergency Services and Resilience Minister Steph Cooke said the funding would ensure infrastructure in flood-affected communities was built to a more resilient standard to help withstand future natural disasters.
"I encourage each council to make the most of this funding opportunity so we can be better prepared for future severe weather events," Ms Cooke said.
The floods, which hit the Hunter in early March, isolated a number of communities and broke rainfall records across the region.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Muswellbrook and Cessnock councils confirmed they would be applying for funding but were yet to narrow down a list of projects.
"Council is currently assessing all of the assets that it manages that are located on Crown Land, as well as making an assessment on the capacity to deliver in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant," a Cessnock council spokesperson said.
Repair of Crown roads is likely to be the focus for Lake Macquarie council, with a spokesperson saying "funding granted will be used to restore roads to a condition similar to what they were in prior to the storm event".
"Upgrades, improvements and aesthetic changes are not eligible for funding under the program, unless the restoration requires an upgrade to meet current standards," the spokesperson said.
Maitland council hadn't made a decision about the grants, with a Singleton council spokesperson saying it was "looking into the details of this latest announcement with a view to opportunities for making application to benefit the community".
The number of councils which are eligible to apply for funding is defined by those listed in the NSW Government's disaster declaration for the February to March floods.
Cessnock, which was one of several hunter LGAs affected by subsequent flooding in July, said the funding would "provide improved opportunities if it was opened up to the July 2022 floods".
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