Once a popular venue for dances, wedding receptions and community functions, the Cumberland Street hall has been vacant since 2010 after its floor suffered water damage and the parish was directed by the Diocese to close the building.

The building has also been significantly damaged by vandals over the years, and the parish does not have sufficient financial resources to cover the restoration.

However, the parish hopes it may now be able to revive the site, with a "strong proposal" recently put forward that includes an element of community outreach.

Parish priest Father James Lunn said resistance from the community, an insurance claim, access issues and a lack of prospective options had previously prevented the redevelopment from proceeding.

"Not long after the initial closure, there was an attempt to look for a development partner for the site, including the presbytery, but this fell through due to the perception of public pressure," parish priest Father James Lunn said.

"As well, after the building was closed there was a period of time in which significant damage to the building occurred due to vandalism.

"This damage became the subject of an insurance claim and it took several years and perseverance by one of our parishioners, and parish staff, to bring that matter to a conclusion.

"Also, the parish has had several issues that have limited our ability to deal with the complexities of the situation.

"These include the reduction of parking and the closure of the Yango Street access which we believe compromises the development potential of the site."

Fr Lunn said the parish now has a "firmer understanding of how to take the development forward".

"If the building is to be preserved we would envisage at least a significant portion of the site for community outreach," he said.

"Previous to this time we have not had any concrete proposals from the community for the use of the building.

"We are now in the happy situation that we have someone who has a strong proposal that encompasses an element of community outreach.

"Before this time we had no prospective options."

The parish is inviting developers who would like to partner with them to either redevelop the hall and surrounding area with a project, or if that proves unfeasible, demolish the hall and develop a precinct that will "better service the Cessnock community".

"The EOI process allows us to show the community that we have made a strong effort to preserve the building," Fr Lunn said.

"But if there is insufficient support from the various parties to make the building financially viable, then we have to move to the next stage.

"The parish is not financially strong enough to return the building to its former use as a hall and hence we must look at other options for the site.

"Should there be a successful outcome to this process then we will have also demonstrated that the approach that we take is an optimal one.

"All interested parties in the community, and further afield, will be given an opportunity to make proposals for the use of the site."

Expressions of interest can be forwarded to parish finance council member Ted Coupe by emailing coupe.ted@gmail.com before Friday, May 20.

Do you know you can subscribe to get full access to all Cessnock Advertiser stories? Subscribing supports us in our local news coverage. To subscribe, click here.