Maitland councillors will discuss a plan tonight to seek investors from the private sector to develop the former pump house building and use it to operate a business on a long-term lease.

A staff report said council could not afford the major capital injection needed to develop the site and private sector investment could help rejuvenate the area around the pump house.

The report said applicants needed to show how they could redevelop the site in an environmentally and commercially sustainable way.

Cr Peter Garnham said he hoped a good business idea would come up for the site if council advertised for expressions of interest.

Cr Garnham said market forces would be a factor in determining the successful applicant, because the chosen business needed to be financially sustainable.

“We hope someone will come out of the woodwork with an idea," he said. “We're looking for an investor to make it sustainable and attract Maitland people there. I'm all for anything that gets people going back there.

“It's about going to the next level and getting something in the pump house to operate seven days a week.”

The Walka Water Works site is on 64 hectares of Crown Land reserved for Preservation of Historical Sites and Buildings. Maitland City Council became Corporate Trust Manager of the Reserve in 2007.

If councillors tonight vote in favour of seeking private sector investors for the pump house, expressions of interest are expected to be open for three months.

An analysis of Walka Water Works prepared by council in 2012 suggested private sector investors could be sought to develop and use the pump house complex.