The Riverton Community Board will be considering a request to grant $20,000 of its budget towards a historic restoration project.

The Kohikohi Cottage on 22 Napier Street in Riverton will have close to a half-million dollars worth of restoration work put into it if the Southland Heritage & Building Preservation Trust's plans come to fruition. 

A Category One listed heritage site, it is the first permanent residence in Riverton, dating back to 1837.

It is a rare example of a dwelling dating before the Treaty of Waitangi, and served as the home that Captain John Howell built for his wife, Kohikohi.

The community board will be discussing tomorrow evening whether to grant the trust $20,000 from its reserves to help the trust in the final stage of its restoration project. 

If the grant is agreed to by the community board, it will then go to the Southland District Council for approval.

The trust's total budgeted cost for the project is $477,170.