Bank of Ideas director Peter Kenyon has been booked to speak twice in Buninyong and help the town plan for its future.

Mr Kenyon will meet with residents at 7.00pm on June 13, and then businesses at a breakfast from 7.30am the next day.

It will form part of the Imagine Buninyong community project to help residents and Ballarat City Council map the future direction of the town.

Mr Kenyon helps communities discuss how to enhance their biggest assets to grow the town’s economy and prosper.

He said it was about facilitating a conversation about the future and what it looks like.

“We are particularly committed to a model of develop called asset based community development, so not about what’s wrong with the community, but what’s strong,” Mr Kenyon said.

”​What is it are we proud of? What have we got that is working really well?

“These are strengths that we are building upon.”

Council is yet to create a strategic plan for Buninyong and its future, but has made developing one a priority in its own 2017-21 plan.

The town challenges such as increasing truck traffic along the Midland Highway and Learmonth Street, and developing a traffic management plan.

Mr Kenyon has worked with more than 2000 communities and in 59 countries.

He said Buninyong had a lot of heritage assets that made it an attractive place for people to buy property.

“It has got amazing heritage, but because of its close proximity to a place like Ballarat, it is going through phenomenal growth and development,” Mr Kenyon said.

“How do you retain that wonderful heritage and village-like nature and cope with the growth of new people, new families, moving in and housing being established?

“The university close by, the type of families that would have come in because of that and the fact it has a long history and village-like nature.”