That was the upshot of Wednesday night's ordinary council meeting - the first presided over by the new Mayor Ben Taylor - when councillors agreed to seek a planning amendment identifying both as future greenfield growth areas.

Their decision was not universally welcomed. There was a particularly strongly worded representation from a landowner for one of the two other areas that were considered as investigation areas but not recommended by planning officers.

Alan Miller, whose company Thorney Investment Group is the main landowner for a north-western area that was not recommended, called the process identifying the growth zones as "completely dysfunctional". He said he had not been consulted adequately by the company making the report and told councillors he had only received it last week. "There are many points in there that I beg to differ," he said.

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James Guy, the City of Ballarat's executive manager of economic partnerships, said the decision was about broader growth areas. He said each area had been weighed up on a range of criteria such as ease of installing infrastructure and the costs involved.

PROPOSED NORTHERN GROWTH ZONE

The City of Ballarat CEO Justine Linley described the vote as "a theoretical look at where growth potential is," adding there was "a significant further process."

Meanwhile, councillor Daniel Moloney raised concerns that neither of the two recommended growth zones had any existing public transport links or lines.

He voted against the motion as did Cr Jim Rinaldi, who both argued more time should be taken to consult properly with Mr Miller, but the motion was carried by other councillors.

Cr Mark Harris called it the start of the process. "Growth can be toxic," he said. "We will have to balance this with the central infill we can get."

PROPOSED WESTERN GROWTH ZONE

Urban re-generation was also on the agenda as councillors voted to approve the Bakery Hill Renewal Plan.

There were two public submissions including one from Chris Angel, who runs a hairdressing salon in the mall and argued for deferral of the plan. "I have never heard [people] say they wanted the mall reopened to traffic," he said.

The next to address councillors was from John Marios, a former Bridge Mall Traders Association manager who came in his capacity as a property owner. He said he welcomed the plan.

"Businesses in the mall are concerned with their long-term viability," he said.

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He said that the Bridge Mall Business Association would not have an official stance until the more detailed designs came through. "Now is the time to change," he said. "This plan is for the future of Ballarat's CBD."

Cr Grant Tillett proposed an alternate motion that deferred minor early works - such as lighting and lane-way beautification - until more detailed plans were available - but that was defeated.

The deputy mayor Cr Belinda Coates said she was not convinced the proposal to open Bridge Mall to traffic was the right one.

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She advocated for traffic to run "very, very slowly" if it were introduced. However, she stressed the plan was about more just the reopening of Bridge Mall and said the overall tone of the plan "raised the bar".

"It isn't just about opening the mall, it's about the whole precinct. It will have a domino effect on the whole area," she said.

Cr Coates was among councillors supporting the plan with just Crs Tillett and Harris voting against.

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