Many Hunter residents may not know precisely where this area is. It isn't exactly a household name.

The peninsula is a strip of land - between lake and ocean - that runs from Swansea to Catherine Hill Bay.

This heavily forested area features winding roads along the Pacific Highway that motorcyclists once dubbed the "Swansea bends".

The peninsula was for a long time spared from development, aside from Rafferty's Resort and villages at Cams Wharf, Nords Wharf and Catherine Hill Bay.

In 1989, land south of Swansea was rezoned for the Gordon Pacific tourist and residential resort, but that plan went by the wayside. In 1999, a company called Lensworth devised a new plan which it later sold to developer Stockland.

In 2005, Lake Macquarie City Council approved the first seven stages of the project on land that became the suburb of Murrays Beach. This represented about 10 per cent of the overall project, which was to include 1800 to 2000 lots.

The project was notable at the time for its ban on cats and keen focus on the preservation of trees.

The project's master plan has long included plans for the suburb of Pinny Beach on the opposite side of the highway to Murrays Beach. The Pinny Beach project is on prime coastal land south of Caves Beach.

It has been talked about for so long, it has almost taken on mythical status. Finally, though, there is movement at the station.

A 262-lot subdivision plan has been lodged with the city council.

If approved, the project is set to become one of the most exclusive and secluded developments in the Hunter.

It will follow new housing built in recent years at Catherine Hill Bay, which was established after years of wrangling between the NSW government, residents, environmentalists and developers.

It was among the most significant land battles in Hunter history.

The Catherine Hill Bay land became embroiled in legal action in 2009, after the government was accused of being part of a land swap that the Land and Environment Court famously described as a "land bribe".

This swap involved developers donating large amounts of Wallarah Peninsula land to the state government for conservation. The NSW government later closed a legal loophole, allowing the Catherine Hill Bay developments and land donations to proceed.

Despite the controversy, the land swaps did enable large swathes of the peninsula's natural beauty to be preserved.

As for the resulting developments, those will be seen in the eye of the beholder. As will the buildings that eventually end up at Pinny Beach.

ISSUE: 39,461.