Councillors approved an officer recommendation to submit an application for the Commonwealth's Regional Airport Funds, which has an imminent deadline. All present approved the motion, which would also see the council match federal funding if it is granted.

An officer report said the overall $10m would ensure the runway could be lengthened to 1,980 metres, and ultimately allow a greater variety of aircraft to use it.

Daryl Chibnall, a pilot who gave a public submission in support of applying for funds, said the airport needed higher capacity aircraft to increase its use for firefighting. He said it was his concerns about "life and property" that led him to describe an upgrade to the airport as "essential", with the ferocity of fires getting worse.

Officers hope the development of the airport would kickstart council plans to base a Ballarat Aviation Emergency Service Hub at the airfield in Mitchell Park, permitting a rapid response to incidents, particularly fires, from the area.

In addition to the airport runway construction cost, the City of Ballarat would need to fund a temporary upgrade to McCartneys Road to access the airport ahead of the full development of a road network within the Ballarat West Employment Zone.

However, several councillors expressed concerns about the level of detail in the plans. Cr Amy Johnson said she had "serious reservations about applying" and that there was not enough information at the moment. However, she said it could be a "fantastic opportunity" for the city.

Cr Daniel Moloney also expressed "big concerns" and said the business case was still lacking. "The costs to council need to be better articulated," he said. "It risks being a very narrow benefit to very select businesses."

In a public submission before the item was discussed, a former mayor, John Barnes, had also warned that the officer report was lacking in detail.

He said there was a "huge gap" between the consultants' analysis and the officer report and suggested councillors amend the recommendation to include a report on the full costs of delivering the project.

Cr Grant Tillett said he understood Mr Barnes' concerns but countered that the application was not "an exercise in coming up with a final plan" and that there would be "heaps of time" to work on finer detail if the funding was released.

The recommendation went through unchanged. Council officers will face a particularly tight turnaround, with the deadline for application for a first round pot of $45m closing on Thursday December 12.

The City of Bendigo, which currently runs QantasLink flights from its local airport, has also applied for funding for maintenance and safety upgrades, as well as a new terminal and business park.

Ballarat Airport, coincidentally, was a point of discussion in the meeting's previous item, the Miners Rest Township Plan.

The airport, along with Miners Rest Primary School, the saleyards and the Dowling Forest Equine Precinct are all referred to as "interrelated" planning considerations.

The plan outlines the shape of the future development of the suburb to the north-west of Ballarat, and has been discussed for almost three years. It has twice previously been deferred as other details surrounding the area were finalised, but this time was passed unanimously by councillors.

One public speaker lamented the continued odour coming from the saleyards, saying there had been 60 complaints early this month alone.

Cr Moloney said: "It's gone through a fairly traumatic, full-on few years, and we need to recognise that as a council."

One minor amendment put forward by Cr Tillett allowing the rezoning of the land to the south of Cummins Road and west of Lindsays Road to residential use was also approved.

Councillors agreed a strategic partnership with Basketball Ballarat on Wednesday night, worth $106,000 annually for the next three years.

The deputy mayor Belinda Coates said: "In terms of strategic partnership, it does literally tick all the boxes."

Cr Coates said the funding would bring health, social, environmental and economic benefits to the city.

An officer report outlined that basketball events accounted for 23,500 bed nights each year with an economic benefit of $3.5m annually to the city.

Officers said there was a significant opportunity for that figure to grow as a result of the completion of the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre, which had its official opening this year.

An additional strategic event partnership worth $20,000 per annum over three years was also approved.

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