Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan

Salamander Bay Town Centre

Located in the heart of the Tomaree Peninsula, the Salamander Bay Town Centre is a key commercial and community hub, offering a wide range of services and shopping experiences.

The Centre also provides important community and educational facilities, including the Tomaree Connected Learning Centre, a community childcare centre, the Tomaree Library and Community Centre, and is in close proximity to both public and private schools – making it a focal point for both commerce and learning.

As the only dedicated shopping precinct on the Tomaree Peninsula, the Salamander Bay Town Centre services a broad catchment area beyond its immediate surroundings.

The Tomaree Peninsula is a popular tourist destination, attracting thousands of visitors each year. During these times, the Salamander Bay Town Centre becomes a busy hub, placing pressure on traffic flow and parking availability.

The Place Plan

Currently, the Centre’s layout—with a focus on vehicle access and the separation of land uses—can make it challenging to create a vibrant, walkable and inviting environment.

With improvements to the public domain, including the addition of community gathering spaces, activation initiatives, public art and cohesive landscaping, the Centre has strong potential to develop a unique identity.

As the Tomaree Peninsula continues to grow, the focus will be on enhancing pedestrian access and traffic circulation, strengthening community connections, protecting and showcasing natural assets, and creating new opportunities for housing, health services, and commercial development—supporting a dynamic and sustainable future for the Salamander Bay Town Centre.

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Place Plan Projects

Development opportunity - 155 Salamander Way

The commercially zoned site at 155 Salamander Way is approximately 5 hectares. Around 40 percent of this (2.05ha) is being investigated for retail and local services, as well as a mix of much-needed housing types.

This aligns with community’s requests and needs for diverse, affordable housing and more local businesses.

It also ties in with the Port Stephens Local Housing Strategy, which identifies a requirement for 11,000 new homes by 2041, including 4,000 on the Tomaree Peninsula. The area surrounding the development site currently consists of low density homes and higher density tourism accommodation.

The inclusion of more low- and mid-rise housing would support the evolution of the existing shopping centre precinct.

The growth will also be supported by a major intersection upgrade and shaded pathways, making the area even more accessible to residents and tourists while addressing traffic concerns.

The next stage will be the lodgment of a development application to Council for assessment. Independent ecologists have undertaken a biodiversity assessment report for submission as part of the DA.

These are still early days, and despite the comprehensive planning, assessments and engagements, there will be much more to come.

We will continue to engage with our community and ensure they are aware of any further feedback opportunities as they arise.

The following provides an overview of the original 2009 proposal, not supported by the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP), and the current proposal for 155 Salamander Way. The current proposal significantly reduces the potential development footprint, does not include any high environmental value land, and will not remove endangered ecological communities or preferred koala habitat.

Map of proposal for 155 Salamander Way

The proposed site will be a minimum of 63 metres from the Mambo Wetlands. This increases to 142 metres on the Salamander Way frontage.

Any future DA will adhere to the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) (Resilience & Hazards) 2021. It will also be required to show the development will not impact on:

  • the biophysical, hydrological or ecological integrity of the adjacent coastal wetland, or
  • the quantity and quality of surface and ground water flows to and from the adjacent coastal wetland.

Council will also self-impose a Vegetation Management Plan for the conserved area to improve what is currently disturbed land.

The flood category of the site allows for residential accommodation, subdivision, fill and all other development types in line with

The DA will showcase detailed flood modelling to outline the proposed development is consistent with PSLEP2013 and PSDCP2025 in terms of flooding.

This includes an assessment against relevant provisions contained in Flood Risk Management Manuel and Port Stephens Flood Risk Management Plan

The DA will provide a report completed by a Bushfire Planning and Design (BPAD) Accredited bushfire professional. The report will also require approval and support by the NSW Rural Fire Service as integrated development.

We are currently calling for expressions of interest (EOI) for a premier healthcare development site at 10 Central Avenue, Salamander Bay.

With over 25 percent of Port Stephens residents aged 65 and over, which is above the state average, we need to ensure our local healthcare keeps pace with the needs of every generation.

The community have told us health services in the Tomaree area are under increasing pressure and have long expressed the need for expanded healthcare access.

The 2024 Livability Survey results also identified access to health and wellness services as a top priority for our residents' quality of life, including our communities in and around Tomaree.

That’s why Council has had a longstanding commitment to improving access to high quality local health services. This prime location in the commercial and community hub would offer easy access for people of all ages and abilities.

The potential development site at 10 Central Avenue is over 120 meters away from the Mambo Wetlands – that’s longer than a sporting field.  There is a smaller portion of the site in the buffer zone of an isolated disturbed wetland, and should further development be proposed, assessments will be required under the State Environmental Planning Policy 2021.

The EOI will help us test the market to find strong developers and different ways the facility could be delivered. It will help us choose the best way forward that aligns with the site's long-term vision.

CBRE is managing the EOI on behalf of Port Stephens Council. Submissions will close on 26 May 2026. Further information is available at: www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/property-10-central-avenue-salamander-bay-nsw-2317-505109752

What kind of health services are you planning for?

The extent of development at the site known as 10 Central Avenue is not yet known.

The proposal for this site is currently at the expression of interest stage to seek a prospective developer to build and manage a health facility in the northern portion.

The scope of services is not part of these early stages of a development.

This EOI process will help us choose the best way forward that aligns with the site's long-term vision and community needs.

FAQS

Our Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan includes plans for two commercially zoned undeveloped sites at 155 Salamander Way and 10 Central Avenue, Salamander Bay.

Both sites are in the heart of this important commercial and community hub. Importantly, they are also positioned outside of the mapped extent of the Mambo Wanda Wetlands.

Commercial opportunities on Council-owned undeveloped sites of this size in the region are limited. That’s why we need to make the most of these rare opportunities to deliver long-term value in line with what the community needs.

Extensive consultation has told us the community wants more diverse and affordable housing options, better access to quality local healthcare, and support for local business growth. They also want more local jobs, which both these sites can deliver on.

It’s important we work together towards meaningful solutions to balance the development needs of our growing community with protecting the natural environment we all love.

Both sites are in early stages. Development applications have not been lodged or assessed. In line with legal requirements, detailed information is only available once a development application (DA) is lodged.

At that time, all documents will be publicly available, and there will be multiple opportunities to review technical studies and provide feedback during the assessment.

Council has a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM) which defines, identifies and maps koala habitat in Port Stephens.

The CKPOM also identifies key criteria to be considered by Council when assessing impacts to koala habitats such as during rezonings or development applications. This includes considering impacts to the extent and quality of koala habitat impacted, connectivity with other koala habitat areas, and identifying mitigation measures to reduce impacts to koalas; such as koala friendly fencing or road crossings.

Council also has a CKPOM Steering committee which oversees the implementation of the CKPoM and its koala habitat management in Port Stephens.

Council has also recently delivered a number of koala habitat protection projects: See here for more.

There are stringent regulations in place to manage Council-related development applications in NSW.

This includes the publishing of conflict-of-interest management statements for Council-related development applications that specifies how conflicts of interest will be managed.

Depending on the scale or complexity, Council-related development applications may be assessed by an independent planner. The conflict of management regulations ensure transparency in decision making for development on Council owned land.

As with any development application lodged with Council, there are legislative requirements for the development to satisfy against the relevant planning framework, irrespective of the landowner.

Further detail on Council’s conflict of interest management approach is contained within the ‘Council Planning Matters Policy’.

Council is both required and committed to this procedure and will again be in place for development plans for Salamander Bay Town Centre sites.

In November 2025, Council adopted the Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan. This plan was shaped by over 1220 people and included consultation with local businesses,, and community groups, including the Mambo-Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group and EcoNetwork.

Broader commuity feedback was sourced through:

  • Liveability Surveys completed in 2020 and 2024
  • An online mapping tool and noticeboard for the community to provide written comments
  • Community drop-in held at the Salamander Square Shopping Centre from 5 May to 7 May 2025 and at the Community Connect Day held at the shopping centre on 16 May 2025 (
  • A community workshop held on 8 May 2025

You can view the  engagement report below:

We appreciate the community’s passion for preserving our precious nature and wildlife. We share this passion and it’s why protecting our natural environment is one of our three key priorities, alongside housing, and roads, drains, and pathways.

In response to community feedback and environmental impact assessments review, Council updated older plans for the development opportunities to reduce the overall footprint, increase buffer zones with the wetlands, protect koala trees, and invest in more trees at project completion.

Approximately 2.1 hectares – around four sporting fields – of commercially zoned land north of the existing Library and Community Centre has been identified through preliminary environmental studies as having a high environmental value, and will be retained, conserved and improved.

Council’s Development Control Plan (DCP) can support commercial development within flood-prone areas. Flood, bushfire, and other technical studies are always required and assessed as part of the development application process.

We always adhere to legislation, policies and processes and will continue to do so with these plans. This includes the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021.