A draft masterplan for Catherine Hill Bay including a new surf lifesaving club, a heritage walking trail and community hub has been placed on exhibition by Lake Macquarie council.
Councillors on Monday voted to exhibit the plan, which was prepared in response to the area's growing population and limited public infrastructure.
It is projected to take up to 10 years to implement and is subject to resolution of land ownership, funding and approvals.
The masterplan includes a community hub based around the former Catherine Hill Bay Bowling Club, encompassing a community hall and other rooms, public amenities and café.
A new neighbourhood play space at Middle Camp is also in the plan, while Catherine Hill Bay Oval would be retained in its current form but include a perimeter pathway and allowance for a small car park and sports amenities building.
The surf lifesaving club would be rebuilt and a heritage trail would link it to Middle Camp.
The plan has been informed by community input including online surveys, an online mapping exercise, community drop-in sessions, meetings with external stakeholders, three meetings with a community working group and meeting with Heritage NSW.
Labor East Ward councillor Christine Buckley said the plan for the "iconic" area was well informed by the community.
"It's historic, and we want to make sure that we keep those aspects of it, the historic side of it, but we also need to be able to develop it in a way that will be beneficial to the community," she said.
Fellow Labor East Ward councillor Adam Shultz said he received regular emails from residents saying they were promised reserves, which turned out to be water retention basins, with Rose Group's Beaches estate approved by the state government.
"Council weren't the determining authority, we can only do what we can do," he said.
"What we're seeing down there effectively will be the development of approximately 540 residential lots, as well as a retail area and neighbourhood shops.
"Those first lots started to going in in 2016. This tonight, it provides a 10 year roadmap for the Catherine Hill Bay area, and it should provide some clarity and certainty to the residents that reside down there."
Labor mayor Kay Fraser said there was "a real need for services to be provided there".
"There's a whole range of things that are included in this masterplan which I think is really exciting for the Catherine Hill Bay community and we'll see that grow substantially and I know it's a place that a lot of tourists go to as well," she said.
