Council reshapes town centre plans after pushback from community conservation group

A Hunter council has redrawn its plans for future town centre development to better safeguard neighbouring wetlands.

After months of consultation with a local conservation group, Port Stephens councillors unanimously endorsed a smaller development footprint on council-owned land at Salamander Bay.

The changes cut the area by about 40 per cent, and follow pressure from wetland campaigners.

Councillors were split over the strong response, with Cr Nathan Errington saying "enough was enough" to continued opposition. Cr Giacomo Arnott praised the campaigners for forcing the changes and holding council accountable.

Tuesday's vote revised the developable area at 155 Salamander Way down to 1.36 hectares from a previous 2.25-hectare parcel.

The land sits beside the Mambo Wetlands.

The council says the new footprint falls outside both the wetlands and its mapped buffer zone.

Mayor Leah Anderson told the chamber the proposal was "critical to unlocking land" for diverse and affordable housing for key workers close to shops, jobs and transport, as well as medical facilities and businesses.

She said the council had listened to the Mambo-Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group, and identified environmental land in the plan had increased by about 66 per cent.

In a statement after the meeting, she called the decision "a major win and step forward for our community".

Cr Nathan Errington gave the most forceful speech on the issue, saying the item "continues to come back before council".

He said the council had reduced the footprint and staff had put in "countless hours" to address concerns, but he continued to see "negative" claims and misinformation about the project.

Cr Errington said the council could not allow a small group of people to hold back progress, and that elected councillors had to make decisions for the broader community, not "just those who make the most noise".

Cr Arnott paid tribute to the conservation group, saying it had a long history of holding the council to account and that this had led to the 66 per cent increase in identified environmental land.

"I'm not aware of any information coming out of the group that sounds like misinformation," he said, describing its leaders as community-minded locals who want the best outcome for the area.

Secretary of the Mambo-Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group Kathy Brown thanked the community for their support and said the decision was good news.

"It is a terrific outcome from a lot of hard work in the community," she said.

"We were able to show councillors just how important the buffer zone is."

She said she had faith in the community because of the hard work done previously to protect the wetlands from development.

"We said don't touch Mambo and they said they needed it to address housing, but the amount of people speaking out showed they do have to listen to the community."

Cr Rosalyn Armstrong, an East Ward councillor, said she supported "the intent behind the plan", but her support was conditional.

She noted that 19 submissions and two petitions carrying about 1800 signatures had raised concerns, particularly about the wetlands' proximity and flood and drainage risks on the peninsula.

Cr Armstrong said she would not support future development applications unless she was assured the planning rules were not compromised.

She named building heights beyond the Local Environmental Plan limits, manipulation of lot boundaries, and poor drainage plans that could push stormwater into the wetlands or strain infrastructure in wet weather.

The smaller site could still deliver the same number of housing options by using the full 15-metre height limit under the Port Stephens Local Environmental Plan, Mayor Leah Anderson said.

The report says proceeds from sale of the land would go towards traffic signals at the Salamander Way and Community Close intersection.

A portion would also fund ecological studies and an update of the Mambo Wetlands Plan of Management.

The council's next step is to complete further assessments and prepare a development application to subdivide the site.

After approval, it will seek expressions of interest from private developers, community housing providers and not-for-profits.

The results will return to councillors before any further decision.

The same business paper included a petition with 725 signatures received on 12 May. It asked the council to stop the sell-off and development of land around the Salamander Bay Shopping Centre.

Councillors voted unanimously to receive and note it.