Lord mayor Robert Doyle will push to massively expand the City of Melbourne boundary with the annexation of the Fishermans Bend development area.

The lord mayor also wants the government to cede full planning control for the precinct to Melbourne City Council.

The move follows news last week that an application for a 49-storey tower had already been lodged for the inner-city development area.

Cr Doyle said Fishermans Bend was too important to allow developer-led planning.