PORT Stephens is a vibrant region, with each town and village offering something special.
Salamander Bay Town Centre is one of our key commercial and community hubs.
Over time, it’s grown without a clear plan, but that’s changing.
With your help, we’re creating a Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan to shape a vision for the area, with actions around how we use land, improve infrastructure and the environment, attract investment and improve the liveability and wellbeing of our community.
Port Stephens is facing growing demand for housing, business space, and community services.
Commercial vacancy rates across Tomaree are low, and employment in the area is expected to increase by 54 percent by 2041.
Council owns the last remaining piece of commercially zoned vacant land in the Salamander Bay Town Centre.
This means we need to plan now so we have enough space for local businesses to thrive and for people to get the services they need close to their homes.
At the same time, our Local Housing Strategy identifies the Salamander Bay Town Centre as a key location for low and mid-rise housing.
This creates a real opportunity to support housing delivery while integrating it with commercial and community uses in a connected, thoughtful way.
The Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan will bring all these elements together – driving economic growth, delivering new housing options, improving public spaces, managing traffic and pedestrian movement and enhancing access to community services.
We’re also committed to protecting and investing in the natural environment, especially areas like the nearby Mambo Wetlands, which we know are important to our community.
We’ve got a big opportunity here to shape a thriving, connected town centre – and we want you to be involved every step of the way.
Join us for a workshop at Tomaree Library on 8 May, the Tomaree Community Connect Day on 16 May or visit our online mapping tool on our website before 18 May to share your ideas.
Let’s work together to create a town centre that grows with us and stays true to what makes Salamander Bay and Port Stephens such a great place to live, work and invest.
By Leah ANDERSON, Mayor, Port Stephens Council
