Real estate records show a 3264m2 vacant parcel of land, situated on Cornish Hill, sold in January 2021.

"This private and well-positioned vacant allotment offers spectacular views of Lake Daylesford and Wombat State Forest with direct entry to the Cornish Hill Mining Precinct," the advertisement reads.

The land address is Lot CA8 SEC9 Camp Street and is accessible by Houston Street.

"This residentially zoned block offers the savvy developer or homeowner the opportunity to build with the potential to further subdivide," it continues.

A planning permit was recently uploaded to the Hepburn Shire Council website for a proposal to develop the site "for the purposes of a group accommodation development" comprising five 'skybarrel' accommodation units.

The 'skybarrels' are proposed to be 12-metre tall two-storey one bedroom units.

The metal-clad cylinders will be elevated from the ground by galvanised steel beams and structures supported by red brick retaining walls.

The access to the site is proposed to be from the southwest corner, leading to a gravel driveway which would run along the western boundary with separate driveways then to be carved out to each unit.

The application says the land would need to be graded to accommodate the driveways, while each unit would have an external water tank.

A town planning report included in the application says while the land is situated within a historical mining area, "no significant heritage items have been located within the site".

It says the proposed works would have "no detrimental physical and visual impact of any identified heritage item of the Cornish Hill Mining Precinct" as the site has been designed to be viewed as a "single block" from Houston Street.

It does, however, recommend additional native vegetation and tree plantings to maintain "the important parkland and bushland setting" of the area.

The proposal has been submitted by David Penman, who owns and operates the popular tourist accommodation called Clifftop at Hepburn.

An application for the skybarrels development on the foothills of Mt Buninyong was submitted to the City of Ballarat in June 2020.

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But while the proposal for the luxury accommodation was welcomed by some in the tourism sector, it drew fierce opposition from many Buninyong residents.

The Courier previously reported that the initial planning application drew 57 objections from the local community, with five people submitting in favour of the plans.

In February this year, City of Ballarat councillors voted unanimously to oppose the project, and it was taken to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal proceedings.

In a surprise move, approval for the project was denied by VCAT in August.

Hepburn Shire Council is currently accepting submissions for the application. These can be made in person at its Daylesford office, online or by emailing shire@hepburn.vic.gov.au

The proposal is likely to be considered at a council meeting in early 2022.

Mr Penman was contacted for comment but did not respond.

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