Build up, not out: thousands more homes slated for these Bendigo suburbs

The trick could be finding the places to build four-storey buildings, council officers say in a new draft document expected to go out for community consultation from next week.

They have flagged major changes including multi-storey buildings and more compact living in suburbs dotting Greater Bendigo.

That would help slow the flow of people to growth suburbs on the edge of town.

Here's what it could mean for your neighbourhood.

How many new houses could fit in your neck of the woods? The City of Greater Bendigo commissioned researchers who found 50,833 new homes could fit in existing suburbs.

So how might developers fit so many new homes in all these suburbs? The council has some ideas including a potential new way of deciding where units, townhouses and multi-storey buildings would go.

That includes setting aside space for "substantial" change. That space might include many areas within 400 metres from a shopping strip, railway station or major transport corridor.

That would also include areas close to big activity centres like the Bendigo Hospital, Strathdale's shopping precinct or the whole of the city centre.

Developers could get latitude to build four-storey buildings up to 13 metres high in those areas. They could be apartments, shop-top living, or townhouses, for example.

There would still be controls in these areas. For example, many are near heritage buildings and precincts. They also have their own neighbourhood character.

The council would also set aside areas for "minimal" change. They might be more protected because of their heritage or neighbourhood character, or because they were in areas that could flood, for example.

Developers could still build double-storey residential buildings in those areas but would have to jump higher bars with the council and other planning bodies.

Other sections of a suburb could be classed as "incremental change areas" where two- or three-storey buildings could rise.

They would not be close enough to major shopping and activity hubs to need substantial change but still considered to have the sort of neighbourhood character suited to multi-storey residential buildings, council officers said.