Newcastle council is seeking approval for its new cafe at Newcastle Foreshore to operate into the evening to cater for night-time events in the park.
City of Newcastle has lodged an application for the fitout and operating hours of the $3.7 million kiosk building, which also includes an accessible changing places facility, parent's rooms, accessible toilets, and public toilets.
The cafe fitout plans include proposed hours of operation, which are 6am-9pm Sunday to Thursday and 6am-10pm on Friday and Saturday.
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said the proposed hours were to ensure the cafe could open for future events in line with Foreshore Park "being the city's premier major event space".
Construction of the building is already approved and earth works have started. The council said the building was on track to open in mid-2025.
The old playground equipment will be removed to make way for the construction.
The building will form part of a major overhaul of Foreshore Park as outlined in a masterplan for the site adopted in 2022.
The upgrade also includes a regional inclusive play space and water play area, picnic and barbecue lawn areas, landscaping, trees and shade, a number of event spaces and a cultural walk.
The plans state an estimated maximum of 10 staff would be on site at any one time and staff times would vary throughout the day and seasons to accommodate for demand during peak or low times.
City of Newcastle will complete a partial fit-out of the kiosk's internal kitchen, and then hand over to the future operator to fund and complete their fit-out works at their cost, which are estimated at $275,000.
The site is zoned RE1 Public Recreation and kiosks, restaurants and cafes are permitted within the zoning.
Newcastle council received $233,000 through the Newcastle Port Community Contribution Fund for the project.
