Rural Prosperity Community Improvement Plan

In consultation with the County of Brant Agricultural Advisory Committee, the County of Brant has prepared a draft Rural Prosperity Community Improvement Plan, or RPCIP.

At its core, the RPCIP is a grant program that supports farms, rural businesses, tourism operators, and commercial properties in the County’s rural communities. It aims to reduce the cost of improving buildings, upgrading signage, reusing older structures, and completing required planning or building approvals.

The goal is to strengthen Brant’s rural economy, support farm viability, and keep rural communities active and welcoming.

How the draft plan works

The draft RPCIP would:

1. Identify eligible properties
   • Farms with on-farm diversified uses.
   • Farms that are adding Additional Residential Units.
   • Commercial and mixed-use buildings in rural communities.
   • Rural tourism businesses outside the three urban areas.
2. Offer several grant programs, for example:
   • Façade improvement grants for exterior upgrades.
   • Signage improvement grants.
   • Property and parking improvement grants for landscaping, parking, and active transportation.
   • Application fee grants for certain planning and building approvals.
   • Adaptive commercial reuse grants for converting buildings to eligible commercial uses.
   • Housing and residential unit improvement grants for ARUs and mixed-use buildings.
3. Set clear eligibility rules and an application process, including pre consultation, Council approval or delegated staff approval, and inspection before payment.

Benefits for rural participants

• Reduced project costs for eligible improvements.
• Support to modernize and reuse existing buildings instead of new greenfield development.
• Help to add housing for farm families and workers.
• Better signage, façades, and visitor facilities for tourism and local food operations.
• Stronger, more resilient rural communities.

Read the complete draft Rural Prosperity Community Improvement Plan.

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FAQs

We have included a list of frequently asked questions to help answer some questions you may have.