The 93-room hotel is proposed for 107 Doveton Street South, where there is currently a car park.

The plans, which would include a licensed cafe and restaurant, will be considered by councillors at a special planning meeting this evening (Wednesday April 14).

The site is a pocket of land measuring 890 square metres with a street front of 20.57 metres opposite Dana Street Primary School. The Smith & Jennings accountancy firm building is next door. The proposed hotel would be 20.81 metres high.

For the development to get the green light, it would mean councillors would have to reject the officers' advice.

In the extensive public agenda issued ahead of the meeting, a council officer report notes "significant policy support" in the planning scheme for developments that "provide employment, diversify the economy and facilitate tourism".

It also notes tourism strategies aim to increase the number of overnight visitors and that the application was "consistent with these parts of the planning policy framework."

It subsequently outlines the reasons for recommending its refusal, including concerns over its design and impact.

According to the author of the report, the proposed building is "not responsive to the commercial character of the area by way of its detailed design, street activation, articulation and material selection".

The report also says the planned unenclosed parking area, which would have room for 21 car parks, would create "an unsafe space".

"A more sensitive building design which draws from the materials, height and bulk of other development in the area is required," the agenda reads.

The officer report also describes concerns the building, if approved, could inhibit future projects that could take place in the area.

The agenda reads: "Given the potential for redevelopment in this pocket, it is considered that it should not be a case of 'first in best dressed', but that surrounding properties should also have the opportunity to be developed to their highest and best potential at a future date."

Another stated grounds for refusal was that the proposal required trucks to reverse into an access laneway to load and unload, a situation "potentially compromising pedestrian safety", planning officers concluded.

The plans were publicly advertised in September last year.

The application for the hotel was put together by town planning company Beveridge Williams on behalf of a company named as Ballarat Investment Group company.

The director of that company is recorded by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as Melbourne-based businessman Ashish Kapoor.

Mr Kapoor's LinkedIn profile also lists him as a franchise owner at the Mercure Bendigo Schaller Hotel, Quest Moorabbin and Quest Bendigo.

There were 17 objections received to the initial planning application.

The scale of the building, its design and how it would sit with the surrounding area were among the concerns expressed.

There were also objections over the amount of car parking proposed, as well as concerns over the use of trucks and the overlooking of a property to the rear.

The new building could also obstruct radio signals, cited as a concern for a nearby security company. Planners said the effect on radio signals was "not a relevant planning consideration."

They also said its proximity to a primary school was not a grounds for a refusal.

Councillors will vote on the officer recommendation at the meeting, which takes place at 6.30pm today at town hall.

READ THE PLANNING MEETING AGENDA HERE

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