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.

Downloads

Place Plan Projects

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

The commercially zoned site at 155 Salamander Way is approximately 5 hectares in size. 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, with 4,000 specific to the Tomaree Peninsula. The area surrounding the development site currently consists of low density homes and higher density tourism accommodation.

Inclusion of more low-rise and mid-rise housing would assist the evolution of the existing shopping centre precinct.

The growth will also be supported by a major intersection upgrade and shaded pathways to make the area even more accessible for 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 when further feedback opportunities arise.

FAQS

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.

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.