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The Night-time Activation Grant program provides funding to support events, arts and cultural activities that have a public outcome, stimulate economic growth for local businesses, add to the vibrancy and drive visitation to the Claremont Town Centre after 6pm.
Project cost
A grant pool of $100,000 (+ GST) is available to fund projects each financial year.
Project timeframe
The program runs each financial year.
What was the problem or opportunity being addressed?
Particularly post-pandemic, the program was developed to encourage people to come back to the Claremont Town Centre to engage with local businesses and create a vibrant atmosphere. The focus was originally on the night-time economy, with evenings considered a very quiet time for activity in the Town Centre. It was recognised that events, arts, culture and local business support were critical aspects in creating vibrant and activated Town Centres as well as providing a stimulus to local businesses.
How the project addressed the problem or opportunity
During the 2021-22 financial year, Council proactively moved towards furthering its support for local businesses by establishing the Night-time Activation Grant program.
Originally, the grant program offered up to $10,000 (+ GST) to businesses located in the Claremont Town Centre to deliver exciting night-time offerings. To ensure projects created a vibrant and activated Town Centre – as well as a stimulus to local businesses – all proposed projects were assessed against the following criteria:
- Demonstrate how your project will attract visitation to Claremont’s Town Centre after 6pm and encourage visitors to dwell in Claremont’s Town Centre. Detail how the visitation will be measured.
- Demonstrate how your project activates Claremont’s Town Centre with vibrant activity, prioritising public spaces or underutilised spaces.
- Demonstrate how the project will stimulate the local economy and provide opportunities for engagement with local businesses in the hospitality and retail sector and champion the use of local businesses and suppliers.
As of 2023-24, businesses located outside the Claremont Town Centre were also eligible to apply, encouraging applicants from other areas of Perth to bring their events and project ideas into the Town Centre to further activate the area.
Project outcomes
From 2021-22 to 2024-25, there have been the following identified outcomes:
- 94 grant applicants
- $390,000 (+ GST) granted to local businesses
- Over 25,000 attendees to grant-funded events.
Funded events have included:
- Laneway dinners
- VIP Art Classes
- Art exhibitions and workshops
- Fashion shows
- Launch events and in-store activations
- Live music
- Interactive trails.
Common themes of feedback collated from grant acquittals include:
- Praise from the local community and businesses for seeing the area activated at night
- Increase in foot traffic and more vibrant atmosphere
- Increase in brand awareness of the Town Centre and its offerings
- Increase in dwell time, with many applicants noting attendees dining or shopping in the Town Centre pre- or post-event.
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Lessons learnt
- It was mandatory for applications to be submitted at least eight weeks in advance of the proposed project delivery date. This allowed sufficient time for submission, assessment and delivery.
- Continuously and consistently promote the program through a range of channels to encourage interest and applications, particularly talking about the program face-to-face with potential applicants, and getting in touch with past successful applicants to apply again.
- Cross-collaborate with teams internally to support successful delivery. This ensures internal teams are aware of the projects taking place and necessary approvals and requirements are met by the applicant.
- Make applicants aware of the acquittal process in advance to ensure they know the required details to capture, e.g. attendance numbers, dwell time, etc.
- Involve businesses in Local Government led events.
- Adjust program guidelines to support businesses under changing environments.
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