BY APRIL BRACKLEY
A $1.25 million pathway project has sparked community uproar in Port Stephens, due to an alleged lack of consultation.
Port Stephens Council proposed plans to close two existing Shoal Bay beach access paths and install a three-metre wide, 500-metre long concrete path between Halifax Holiday park and Harwood Avenue.
A funding application for the project was submitted by Council on November 24 2024, with Transport for NSW approving the funding on May 13 2025.
However, residents said the first known community notifications occurring at the end of April 2026.
Construction on the major project is due to begin in September.
The Shoal Bay foreshore between the locations currently functions as a place for shared community activity, existing as one of the few areas in Port Stephens left undisturbed by a road or formal pavement.
The proposed plan has received substantial negative feedback, with concerns over it's intruding nature and a loss of familiar, direct ways of reaching the beach.
This has led to community action, including a deferral request made in May of this year, in which 45 residents signed a letter formally asking the council to defer construction until March 2027.
There has been no indication of the council's agreement with the deferral.
"We were very upset with the manner in which many residents' concerns were being dismissed as kind of selfish and self-interested," said Shoal Bay resident Trevor Watling.
"It's actually about preserving this place for everyone and future generations."
Local community members have also been left in the dark regarding reasons as to why the project has been so aggressively pushed by the council.
"Why does it have to go ahead so fast," Mr Watling added.
"Why can't it be deferred and why did they submit this without consultation."
The community are continuing their efforts to pause the project and have now established their own survey, receiving more than 280 responses.
Port Stephens Council Asset Manager John Maretich has been contacted for comment.
