Tomaree Peninsula, Port Stephens

By 1974, many Port Stephens’ residents were fed up with the indiscriminate development of high-rises on the central coast, particularly on foreshores. They spent years opposing such projects, arguing that the sewage system was inadequate for the increasing population and that the buildings themselves seriously detracted from the natural beauty of the area. For years, local council leaned on the side of developers and ignored the opinions of residents who, in their disenchantment, turned to the BLF for support. At the request of the Port Stephens Conservation Society and the Tomaree Peninsula Council of Progress Associations, a ‘holding ban’ was placed on the construction of on the construction of buildings higher than four-storeys in the Port Stephens area, specifically on Tomaree Peninsula; this included Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay, and Fingle Bay. The ban was lifted after a public meeting on 19 May 1974 after the establishment of Interim Development Order 23 which outlined conditions for the construction of flats more than four-storeys. This code was so strict, council believed that any developments of the kind were likely to ever take place.

References
Verity and Meredith Burgmann, Green bans, red union: the saving of a city, 1998.

Research provided by Isabella Maher