Ravenswood could soon become the newest suburb of Bendigo with a population of 10,000 people, according to one property developer's vision.
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Villawood wants land south of Bendigo opened for development and labelled the city councils push northwards as flawed.
It has called for Ravenswood - current population about 430 - to be included in the City of Greater Bendigo's Managed Growth Strategy (MGS).
Villawood executive director Rory Costelloe said council had always held the view of not wanting development at the southern gateway to Bendigo.
"That's too archaic and now is the time for change," Mr Costelloe said.
Huntly development 'flawed'
He said constant development at Huntly was wrong as three-quarters of the suburb was on a floodplain.
"We've spent hundreds of thousand of dollars on reports on Ravenswood looking at soil, water supply, flood overlays and bushfire risks," Mr Costelloe said.
"Presently there has been much discussion and concern about bushfire, flooding and infrastructure servicing in the Greater Bendigo region and Ravenswood performs higher in all categories in comparison to other parts of the town."
Mr Costelloe said Ravenswood's proximity to Melbourne was ideal to attracting a skilled workforce to Bendigo.
"Huntly is too prohibitive," he said.
"It's 2.5 hours from Melbourne. Driving Huntly to Kangaroo Flat is 60km/h, down to 40km/h in some places and a gazillion traffic lights."
Mr Costelloe said the new roundabout at Ravenswood and 110km/h on the freeway meant the new suburb would be only 1.5 hours from Melbourne.
"Melbourne is bursting at the seams," he said.
"Bendigo's got a great lifestyle. We all know how hard it is to to attract doctors, lawyers, accountants, skilled labourers to Bendigo and this would make it more attractive to people."
Trees, hills a natural buffer
Mr Costelloe said there was room at Ravenswood for 4000 lots.
"It's east of the railway line and it is barely visible from the highway with the trees and hills providing a buffer," he said.
"It won't kill the entrance to Bendigo as you come onto Big Hill.
"The council's focus on growth in Huntly has been flawed. It only attracts first home buyers locally.
"Ravenswood would give Bendigo a competitive edge to compete with growing regional centres such Geelong, Ballarat and Shepparton for skilled workers.
"We support as much inner growth as possible to utilise existing infrastructure, but the aspirations in the Managed Growth Strategy are not achievable and the numbers are fanciful.
"The biggest impediment to inner growth is the planning system itself, particularly with Neighbourhood Character Overlays (NCOs) and third party appeal rights preventing higher density development in established suburbs.
"NIMBYism also blocks many projects in VCAT with the prohibitive cost of delays and representations deterring others."
Villawood started in Bendigo and expanded nationally
Mr Costelloe said Villawood had built club gyms, pools, tennis courts in Sunbury, Melbourne Queensland.
"But we can't build them here, in Bendigo where Villawood started in 1989," he said.
"At this point in time, Villawood is not seeking rezoning - only inclusion in the MGS as an investigation site.
Chance to develop could be lost
"We have never had the chance to bring our coveted club and masterplanned concept to our hometown of Bendigo as we have in Geelong and across Melbourne.
"This model has consistently raising the standard of development for which we are widely lauded.
"Ravenswood is the only piece of land in Greater Bendigo that offers the scale to really achieve something special and provide real housing choice for Bendigo.
"If we miss out on this opportunity, we will be forced to focus on other national opportunities where we are welcomed, and Bendigo will be left behind again."
Ravenswood not a growth area, says council
A City of Greater Bendigo spokesperson said Ravenswood Run was not currently included as a growth area within the Managed Growth Strategy.
"However, land owners are welcome to make a submission to the public consultation process requesting it be included as a future investigation area to accommodate population growth in the decades to come, should council agree to release the draft strategy for comment," the spokesperson said.
