City of Newcastle has gone back to the drawing board on plans for stage two of the Newcastle Ocean Baths redevelopment.
The council has confirmed it is preparing a revised development application submission in response to feedback from the community, Heritage NSW and the Urban Design Review Panel.
Friends of Newcastle Ocean Baths (FONOB) president Peter Wickham welcomed the decision, arguing it is an opportunity to "get it right".
"We've consistently said this campaign has never been against stopping the restoration of the baths," Mr Wickham said.
"If we don't get it right, it'll basically be set in concrete for the next 100 years.
"It's such an important heritage site and so embedded in the cultural heritage of the people of Newcastle and the Lower Hunter. It's absolutely important that that is recognised and we do get it exactly right."
A City of Newcastle spokeswoman said the community will be able to make a submission on the changes during the exhibition period, which is expected to take place towards the end of August.
"Community members who have previously made a submission on the application will also be directly notified of the public exhibition," the spokeswoman said.
"This process aligns with the resolution passed by councillors at the May council meeting."
At that meeting, councillors decided to forge ahead with the first step towards leasing out a kiosk at Newcastle Ocean Baths while trying to reassure the public the project is not a foregone conclusion.
A separate lord mayoral minute on stage two of the restoration works that drew unanimous support at the same meeting asked City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to "carefully consider" incorporating public feedback into the next phase of the project.
Councillors requested a memo showing how Mr Bath had considered public submissions and how any changes to the development application might affect the estimated cost of the project.
A request was also made for any proposed changes to the design to be communicated with the public.
Mr Wickham said overcommercialisation of the site would be "tragic" for Newcastle.
"We welcome council's decision to revisit key elements of the proposal and to give the community another opportunity to have its say," Mr Wickham said.
It is unclear at this stage exactly which elements of the proposal will be changed in the revised development application.
