The news comes after a spike in demand for land in Warrnambool with some developers over the past year warning they have had to turn buyers away because they have nothing left to sell while they await planning approvals.

A move by the government to fast-track select projects to stimulate investment during the pandemic meant there was limited resources at the Victorian Planning Authority for the East of Aberline Road Structure Plan.

In 2019, the government had chipped in $200,000 to help get the plan off the ground which would pave the way for another 4000 homes and boost to the city's population by 9000 people.

It's been more than two-and-a-half years since that announcement, and it will take another two before the authority is ready for the land to be freed up for development.

"At this stage, we would expect that the precinct structure plan will be gazetted in 2024 when developers will be able to apply to council for planning permission to build new housing," an authority spokesperson said.

"The post-pandemic environment will enable the VPA to secure more resources towards the completion of this project.

"East of Aberline precinct remains an important project for the Victorian Planning Authority."

The precinct covers about 360 hectares of mostly farm land bordered by Wangoom, Dales, Aberline and Horne roads and includes plans to make the area environmentally friendly and gas-free.

Warrnambool developers last year called for the state government to fast-track rezoning of land in Warrnambool because some were running out of blocks to sell.

One of the proposed housing developments in the precinct includes plans for a primary and secondary school, sporting facilities, and a "game-changer" 400-lot estate.

Cr Ben Blain said planning for the area east of Aberline Road would cater for continued to growth and would hopefully be "our next big building boom".

The planning authority and the city council were now revisiting the drainage strategy for the precinct in a bid to incorporate stronger integrated water management principles and ensure flood modelling data and standards were best practice.

Detailed traffic modelling is also set to be carried out this year.

As part of the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis, the authority identified a "fast-track" program of 19 priority projects which were suitable for expedited delivery to unlock investment across the state.

"The East of Aberline PSP was not included in this program of priority projects, and resources within the VPA to advance the project have been limited whilst we support the fast-track program," it said.

"The VPA work program is now being re-prioritised to return to a more normal business footing allowing us to focus on projects such as East of Aberline."

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