Karaka to be home to more than horses

Site works have started on an Auckland residential subdivision in an area earmarked to take an extra 10,000 people over the next four decades.

The first stage of 133 sections of the 450-lot Karaka Harbourside Estate on the Hingaia Peninsula in Papakura are expected to be marketed this winter.

The wider pocket of land was identified by the Auckland Regional Growth strategy in 1999 as a future urban area with an expected population of 10,000 people by 2050.

Papakura's metropolitan urban limit was extended so that 150ha of the 650ha peninsula could be developed for housing and a new town centre.

With eight years of planning done, earthworks, roading, drainage and subdivision work have begun to create the sections in the area where residential lots sell for more than $300,000.

The 60ha Karaka subdivision is being developed by the Ross family of Takanini who have lived in the area for decades.

The land being developed is next to New Zealand Bloodstock's sales centre at Karaka.

Auckland Regional Council development manager Noel Reardon said that of the greenfield areas in the Auckland region, the Karaka land had few environmental constraints on its development.

"That's why it was identified in 1999," he said.

"Developing the land will have a low environmental impact on water quality in the area, the site is free from natural hazards and it complements Papakura's existing residential development."