Newcastle needs to prepare itself for the next big urban renewal project, Hunter Park, and put funding demands on both sides politics in the lead-up to the March state election

Details have emerged from time to time since then, and now it seems that Venues NSW - which has been given carriage of the redevelopment project by the state Coalition government - has arrived at the point where it has a workable business case to present.

This means the time is nearing when we will see how much interest the two major parties of NSW politics have in helping the city of Newcastle continue on its path of rebirth and modernisation.

A business plan is one thing, but it is still early stages.

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The images and figures that are now finding their way into the public domain are speculative and should not be taken as the final word on what the site will eventually look like if the full redevelopment goes ahead over the decade or more it will take to achieve.

But given the degree of criticism that the Revitalising Newcastle project attracted at the height of the light rail controversy, it would be naive to expect that everyone will be pleased with what Venues NSW is proposing for this crucial inner suburban piece of land.

Many people, though, will welcome the opportunities that a virtual new suburb will bring.

Integrated master-planning can ensure a guided balance of land use that is not always present in smaller scale projects.

Connections will be important, and there will never be a better opportunity to push for the promised light rail extension, which would add a whole new dimension to the present 2.7-kilometre run.

If there is a flashing light, it's the necessary realisation that residents in Hunter Park will be sharing their streets with regular hordes of spectators at the new entertainment centre - and the sports fields - at the heart of the design.

Noise must be expected, and accepted.

The other obvious challenge will be securing the necessary funding to turn dreams into reality.

This will take public funding, and substantial amounts of it. Demanding it all be paid for by developers, or through land sales, will lead to a second-rate outcome.

Or see it take decades for what has been promised as a 12-year project, to reach fruition.

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