Following one hour of resident submissions and questions to planning officers at Wednesday's planning meeting, six councillors concluded a more detailed officer's report would be required before council could determine an application to construct a 119-room, two-storey hotel in Warrenheip, just off the Western Highway at 63 Mahers Road.

"When we get to [the point] of a decision, we need to be really well-informed," said Cr Des Hudson, who moved the deferral motion with a view to the various environmental and road and water infrastructure concerns raised by residents.

"Hopefully when we get the [revised] report back to us we will be in a much better position to make a very sound decision on what is clearly a very important bit of land in our gateway precinct."

It was a sentiment echoed by Cr Mark Harris, who said the tenor of debate in council chambers had exposed "gaping holes" in the officer's planning report.

At the forefront of resident concerns was the perceived inability of existing road infrastructure - including the highway intersection at Old Melbourne Road and Brewery Tap Road - to accommodate higher volumes of traffic.

Citing this, residents noted the conclusions of the developer's traffic report were questionable, given the report was completed with reference to data collected on a day when pandemic restrictions were still in force.

Added to this, it was emphasised that though council's planning report had indicated both access roads to the subject site of the hotel would be upgraded as conditions of the development, there appeared to be no intention to upgrade the major highway intersection at Old Melbourne and Brewery Tap roads.

This, said resident Kirrily Liddle, was problematic, given council's masterplan for the Woodmans Hill gateway precinct itself acknowledged the manifest dangers increased congestion would occasion absent interim road upgrades.

"I can think of at least three major crashes that have happened at this intersection in the last 12 months and there are many more minor crashes," she said. "Adding a hotel to this area with this intersection is a disaster waiting to happen."

Speaking in her capacity as secretary of a newly formed Warrenheip residents' group, Ms Liddle added that any future development earmarked for the area - including recently rezoned large parcels of land on the north side of the highway - must be tied to plans for the freeway upgrade.

"As far back as 1998, our community has been waiting for the much-needed [freeway] upgrades to the area," she said. "Instead, in the last 24 years the gateway has become more dangerous, harder to navigate and a complete eye-sore."

"We need a plan now to upgrade this intersection [and it] has to be a priority. I truly want [this area] to be more of a gateway for Ballarat, but it needs to be a safe one."

The decision to upgrade this section of the highway, however, lies not with council but the Victorian government, which is yet to commit funding to the project despite raising it as an intention some 20 years ago.

Speaking at the meeting, council's director of development and growth Natalie Robertson cast doubt on the willingness of the state government to commit to the freeway upgrade absent robust data "in terms of the severity of accidents".

"There's nothing we [as council] can do with the information we have to force an outcome there," she said.

City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King conversely said "further development" in the area - not unlike the hotel proposal - would probably invite the state government to reconsider its stance on the issue.

"I absolutely can't stand up here and make any commitment as to what Regional Roads Victoria will or won't do," he said. "[But] further development out at Woodmans Hill certainly provides a compelling case for us to advocate for an upgrade of that section."

A revised planning report on the proposed hotel development will be prepared in coming months, addressing the various concerns raised by residents.

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