Councillors said the decision to approve the plans for 25-metre-tall development at 107 Doveton Street South - situated directly opposite the Dana Street Primary School - was emblematic of Ballarat's status as a growing, changing city that is "open for business".

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Speaking in favour of the motion, Cr Amy Johnson said were it not for the unprecedented growth Ballarat had experienced in recent years, the development may not have won her support.

"Going back five years ago, I don't think I would have supported this application," she said. "But Ballarat is changing."

"We're going to continue to grow up[wards] as a city and we need to make the most of the CBD space that we have."

Moving the motion in support of the application, Cr Samantha McIntosh said while it was incumbent on council to take community concerns around the development into account, there existed a pressing need to address other considerations which colour the city's planning policies, including population growth, jobs and tourism opportunities.

"Our population growth means we need to provide the appropriate response," she said.

"We need to know that when the Commonwealth Games arrives, we have appropriate accommodation in place; people from around the globe will come to our city and we need to cater for that."

READ MORE: 2026 Commonwealth Games - no word yet on infrastructure

Councillor Des Hudson, who seconded the motion, largely echoed these comments, adding that the development opportunity was one which would facilitate the ability of the city to economically recover from the pandemic.

"We've been talking about the activation of the CBD for a very long time and we've been talking about post-COVID recovery for a very long time," he said.

"We want to be open for business and that requires a willingness on our part to say 'yes'."

The 94-room hotel proposal before council bore little resemblance to the original designs of the proposal, which had been amended twice in the face of serious reservations on the part of council planning officers.

In the result, significant modifications to the building's facade and design had been made to ensure the final build would correspond more closely to the prevailing character of the streetscape.

Presenting to council, Beveridge Williams principal town planner Tim Stevens - who prepared the proposal on behalf of the developer - said there was considerable merit in the development.

"This development would bring a lot of positive benefits to the city," he said.

"It would provide jobs in the city, there's going to be full activation of the street with the cafe [and restaurant on the ground level] and a number of design elements have been incorporated to pay respect to the city's heritage."

Councillors accepted all 19 objections lodged against the proposed hotel development, including concerns around parking, had been adequately addressed or explained by council planning officers.

"This is an exciting time for the city," Cr Ben Taylor said. "It's changing and we're adapting."

"We can see that where sites are appropriate, opportunities for development can happen and this is an example of that. This says we're open for business."

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