Project manager Colin Formann said he "doesn't understand how we got to this point" after Gunnedah Eisteddfod Society and the Gunnedah Conservatorium spoke against the plan at last week's council meeting.

Mr Formann said the "key stakeholders" appeared to support the draft plan at the last precinct advisory group meeting in 2019 before it was put on exhibition.

"The call for plans to be completely scrapped just mystifies me because there seemed to be lot of support and a standing ovation at the last meeting. There were some minor points of contention, but nothing that couldn't have been ironed out during the exhibition period," he said.

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The main issues raised by advisory group member and the eisteddfod society's, Marg Amos, were the relocation and size of the library, the visitor information centre location, lack of storage space, and the placement of the Smithurst on the top floor and subsequent access difficulty for seniors and performers, and the movement of equipment and instruments.

Mrs Amos was backed by the Gunnedah Conservatorium whose chair, Ben Hennessy, says they need to "go back to the drawing board" because "input from community consultation wasn't really heeded".

Mr Formann said the master plan had been designed to retain the current functions of the precinct but also improve it so that every space could work together or be used individually.

He said the council did not have the money to fund a project of this "magnitude" so it must build a strong business case to attract funding.

Mr Formann said they had the best chance if they could show that the precinct would be highly utilised by the community as a whole, and the current plan was designed to achieve this and "provide a much improved facility for everyone".

The library forms a central part of this case because it is a hub of activity six days a week, relies on foot traffic, would benefit from being in the CBD, and would provide a meeting space for youth - a key point raised in consultation.

"It would make it a really vibrant place that would receive a lot of passing foot traffic and would bring life to the precinct, which is the reason why the ground floor is preferred for that ... whereas if you attend a function ... you're going to a place at an appointed date and time, and those types of things are better suited to the second floor," Mr Formann said.

He said the current library's footprint was only one-third of the size needed to provide the community with a technology hub and people spaces, not just book places.

The new design is based on recommendations from the State Library of NSW and allows for multi-purpose spaces that could be used by businesses, people working remotely, or other community groups.

Mr Formann said the "biggest confusion" seemed to be around the new role the Smithurst would play.

"At the moment, the Smithurst plays an important supporting role for the town hall. In the new plan ... it's the foyer, the bar, the kitchen and the terrace room that have been designed to perform the function that the Smithurst does now," he said.

In the new plans, it can operate as a separate space to the Gunnedah Town Hall so two functions can take place at the same time because facilities, including the kitchen and toilets, can be shared.

As for access between the Smithurst and the town hall, he said the stairs and service lifts were designed to accommodate the movement of equipment, furniture, instruments, and the terrace room could accommodate large numbers of people such as performers.

Mr Formann said the suggestion of moving the visitor information centre was outside the scope of the project and it may be preemptive when the second rail overpass was incomplete and the koala park - slated to become a tourist attraction - had not been constructed.

He said the master plan was a concept plan - not a detailed plan - and that specifics such as storage space, would be addressed in further plans.

At the end of the day, if the final master plan is not supported by the community, Mr Formann said it won't become a reality.

"For it to happen, the groups need to see a way to work together, and to share," he said.

Mr Formann said council staff with meet with the advisory group in the coming weeks to try and resolve the issues.