Letter to Council requesting deferral of the Salamander Bay Place Plan, and an independent review.
Murray Wood
16th Nov 2025
Dear Mayor Anderson and Councillors,
I am writing regarding Agenda Item 4 of the Ordinary Council Meeting on 25 November, which recommends that Council:
- Receive and note submissions made during exhibition of the Draft Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan; and
- Adopt the Place Plan, as amended.
I respectfully request that Council does not adopt the Place Plan at this stage and instead resolves to defer the matter pending a thorough, independent review. The current Plan raises significant concerns relating to environmental impacts, governance, conflict of interest, hazard risk, and inconsistency with State and regional planning instruments.
1. Governance & Conflict of Interest – Council Cannot Be Both Applicant and Consent Authority
Several proposed uses within the Place Plan do not comply with relevant State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs). This places Port Stephens Council in the position of:
- preparing a future concept development proposal
- assessing its own application
Under Sections 4.15, 4.16 and 8.2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, development must be assessed impartially and with procedural fairness.
Further, the Agenda for this meeting reaffirms Councillors’ obligations to act:
- fairly, ethically and without bias
- consistent with their Oath/Affirmation of Office
- in a manner that maintains public confidence in Council decision-making
Adopting a Place Plan that anticipates a DA assessed by the same entity that prepares it is inconsistent with these obligations.
2. Inconsistency with the Hunter Regional Plan 2041
Despite statements in the staff report (p.169), the Place Plan appears inconsistent with the Hunter Regional Plan 2041, particularly objectives relating to:
- protection of biodiversity and wetlands
- avoidance of development in natural hazard areas
- strategic growth through redevelopment of existing serviced land
- resilience to flooding and climate impacts
The proposal directs urban pressure into mapped:
- wetland buffer areas
- koala corridors
- flood-prone land
- land containing acid sulphate soils
This is contradictory to the Regional Plan’s strategic intent and long-term sustainability principles.
3. Evidence Base Contradicts Council’s Own Environmental Mapping
Council has commissioned consultants to prepare biodiversity, flood and bushfire reports to support the Place Plan — even where these reports appear to contradict Council’s own published mapping relating to:
- habitat and buffer zones
- koala movement areas
- wetland boundaries
- flood storage and inundation patterns
- bushfire risk categories
The Agenda emphasises the requirement for evidence-based decision-making.
Adopting the Plan despite contradictory data undermines this principle and increases future legal and financial risks to Council.
4. Limited Engagement with Owners of the Most Suitable Development Area (Area 6)
There appears to be insufficient engagement with the landowners of Area 6 – Existing Commercial and Carparks, the most appropriate and least environmentally constrained part of the town centre.
Public statements that the owners have “no immediate plans” to redevelop raise concerns that:
- the development model in the Place Plan has not been financial tested, or
- meaningful discussions have not occurred to enable mutually beneficial outcomes.
Area 6 already allows 15m height, existing services, and is the logical location for:
- community facilities
- health uses
- commercial floorspace
- mixed-use housing
Failing to prioritise this land is a strategic weakness.
5. Past Clearing of Sensitive Areas Cannot Justify New Development
There are indications that past clearing of vegetation — clearing that should not have occurred — is now being used to justify new development in sensitive wetland edge areas.
Best practice planning and environmental management require restoration, not further encroachment, of degraded buffer zones.
6. Inconsistency with Council’s Own Decision-Making Principles (Agenda Pages 5–7)
The Agenda for this meeting outlines mandatory principles that must guide Council decision-making, including:
- long-term environmental impact
- cumulative effects on future generations
- ecologically sustainable development
- risk management
- transparency and accountability
- alignment with community aspirations
The Place Plan in its current form conflicts with several of these obligations, particularly with respect to natural hazard exposure, ecological sustainability, and community expectation to protect the Mambo Wetlands.
7. Natural Hazard Risk & Liability Exposure
The Agenda emphasises the importance of risk management and avoiding decisions that could expose Council to future risk.
Development in the nominated areas carries elevated risks associated with:
- flooding
- sea level rise
- acid sulphate soils
- loss of natural buffers
- storm impacts
These hazards have already resulted in litigation against councils elsewhere in NSW. Proceeding without independent verification is a foreseeable risk.
Request for Deferral
For all the reasons outlined above, I respectfully request that Councillors resolve to:
- Defer adoption of the Salamander Bay Town Centre Place Plan; and
- Commission an independent strategic, environmental and governance review addressing:
- SEPP and EP&A Act compliance
- environmental constraints (wetlands, koala habitat, flood risk)
- consistency with Hunter Regional Plan 2041
- conflict-of-interest and governance risks
- financial feasibility and landowner engagement (particularly for Area 6)
- alignment with Council’s own decision-making obligations and risk framework
A short deferral will ensure the Place Plan is robust, lawful, strategically aligned, environmentally sound, and reflective of community expectations.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be pleased to provide further information or technical clarification if required.
Regards
Murray Wood
B Arch RAIA
Nominated Architect NSW ARBN 6320
Principal Design Practitioner PDP0001375
Registered Design Practitioner DEP0004159