Contractors have broken ground on a new lifestyle village along Pukehangi Road, ready to add 197 homes to the Rotorua housing supply.

The new development, brought to Rotorua by Freedom Lifestyle Villages (Freedom), is situated at the Ngongotahā end of Pukehangi Road and is designed as a lifestyle village for people over 50 that are looking for a more secure and modern style of living.

It is expected that show homes will be opening to the public by mid-2022, with the first residents expected to take occupancy by the end of 2022.

Rotorua Lakes Council District Development DCE Jean-Paul Gaston says unlocking land and enabling new developments is the number one priority for this Council.

'Population projections tell us that we are going to be seeing a lot more households wanting more compact living, modern homes that are low maintenance and suit a modern lifestyle.

'We know that developments like lifestyle villages, apartments and townhouses are the types of homes that a portion of our community will be looking for. The benefit of seeing these types of builds happen in Rotorua, is that more of the traditional housing supply is opened up for people looking to enter the market.

'Enabling developments such as the Freedom Lifestyle Village is a key priority for Council. We want to open up as much land as possible for greenfield development, while also enabling new builds in already developed areas, making the most of the amenities and infrastructure that we already have in place.”

Freedom Lifestyle Villages is a wholly New Zealand owned private company with three completed over 50's lifestyle village in the North Island, and three further villages secured for development over the next three years.

Freedom sees the development as a natural fit for Rotorua and the wider region, and it is expected that more than 65 per cent of residents will be from the local area.

'This is great news – it is a substantial development that will provide another option for people and adds to the momentum we are starting to see with work underway on a number of residential developments right now,” says Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick.

'We need housing of all types in Rotorua and our Council has committed to some significant targets, working in collaboration and partnership with iwi, landowners and developers and central government on multiple fronts to facilitate and enable more housing.

'We look forward to seeing this latest development progressing alongside others across our city.”

Freedom's development is the largest single consent issued in the last two decades. It is the second significant consent to be issued this year, joining Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands' development in Eastside.

The first three stages of the Wharenui Rise development was consented earlier this year for a total of 127 lots. Titles have been issued for stage 1 of Wharenui Rise for the first 52 lots.