The tennis courts - largely disused in recent years - that lay just beyond the intersection with Howitt Street have gone.

Fences are up but the bulldozers for the 20-dwelling development are not quite ready to roll.

Following a total of 21 objections to the initial planning application, there were community consultations , involving developers, locals and ward councillors.

The developer, Hygge Property, made several amends to the plans, including designs that set back the buildings on Lydiard Street - and council officers approved the application.

This week marked the deadline for appeals with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). It is not clear if any were lodged. If not, the developer will apply for a building permit and pre-sell some residences.

According to Hygge Property's Joseph van Dyk, who reports strong initial interest in the project, building work may start early next year.

The Lydiard Street North development is just one of many so-called infill projects planned for Ballarat - in other words, building on land in established neighbourhoods.

With Ballarat's population booming - and likely to continue that way for some time - much of the attention goes on the rapidly expanding western suburbs of Ballarat.

The City of Ballarat Planning Scheme spells out the goal: "more inner city living... [and] higher density infill housing in areas of convenience, urban renewal precincts and the CBD."

In fact the council wants almost as many new residents to move to existing urban areas as they do to the new growth western suburbs.

According to Terry Demeo, the City of Ballarat's director of infrastructure and development, the ambition is to reach up to 40 per cent of newbuild homes from infill.

Justine Linley, the City of Ballarat's chief executive officer, has also suggested that the core CBD could have as many as 1,700 more residents if development targets went to plan.

Some projects have been discussed for years and have stalled. Others have come to fruition. The 30-townhouse development at the Drummond Street North was one notable success story for developers.

After a protracted planning process, in which the original planning application was rejected by council then approved by VCAT, builders re-developed the site of the old Ballarat Memorial Serviceman's Bowling Club. Take-up of the properties proved popular, with most of the townhouses snapped up quickly.

City of Ballarat planners hope that plans for Bakery Hill and Bridge Mall in particular will help breath new life into the city centre - and, crucially, bring new people to live there.

It is one of the urban renewal precincts highlighted in the Ballarat planning scheme - and includes the much debated proposal to reopen the Bridge Mall to traffic.

The most substantial project earmarked for the area is St Paul's Way, which originally included plans for 76 new residences contained in a trio of four-storey apartment buildings as well as 26 townhouses. An amendment is currently before council to reduce the scale to 85 dwellings.

Another attention-grabbing development - outside that precinct but within the CBD - is the five storey Nightingale apartment development planned for Davey Street containing a total of 27 apartments, with a rooftop garden if approved. The developers come off the back of some eye-catching success in Brunswick in the inner-north of Melbourne.

Protests put forward by residents are perhaps not the largest barriers to construction in a legislative environment that tends to favour developers.

Mr Demeo said the 21 objections received for the Lydiard Street North development were not uncommon for a development of its type.

A large number of objections does not necessarily force the plan to be considered in front of councillors at an ordinary council meeting. If a development is signed off by council planners, and councillors do not decide to call it in, a notice of approval can still be issued.

One recent change within council aiming to streamline the process was the introduction of a new special planning committee if councillors decide to call the project in. It aims to allow developers and residents to discuss the plans in a less formal environment than the open council chamber.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for infill plans is finding the right market - which is one of the reasons the council has historically struggled to attract developers.

Last year, the number of people living in the CBD actually went down.

READ MORE: Ballarat's population booms but the CBD growth goes backwards

It clearly remains an issue, but Mr Demeo says there are signs the demographic is now shifting - and the interest of developers such as the Nightingale project are a sign of changing times.

For the CBD, the key is attracting younger residents. With an influx of jobs in central Ballarat expected over the next few years, most notably with the arrival of several hundred workers at the new GovHub.

Will their arrival kickstart a new era in CBD living?

Mr van Dyk of Hygge Property - the company behind the Lydiard Street North development and also a partner in the Nightingale project - believes they will.

Projects from Doveton Street towards the west are the most appealing for developers at the moment, he says. While he says the interest is not there yet for Bakery Hill, he predicts it will be within "three to five years".

He says the pressure to pitch developments right in Ballarat is greater in Melbourne due to its smaller scale.

However, the opportunities are growing he believes.

"I think the market is maturing really rapidly," he told The Courier. "These sorts of projects are becoming more and more feasible."

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