Soil has been broken at Dubbo's newest retail precinct, The Village, Southlakes, with the shopping centre expected to be opened in July next year.

MAAS Group Holdings officially broke ground on its newest retail development on Monday, June 16, alongside special guests, Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders, and Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Josh Black.

Anchored by Coles and designed to include 16 speciality tenancies, three kiosk opportunities and a Liquorland, The Village will be the first retail precinct to hit Dubbo in many years.

The development will bring shopping and entertainment closer to the more than 2500 families that call the ever-growing southeast of Dubbo home.

It is set to become South Dubbo's new local destination for everyday convenience, fresh food, essential services, and community connection.

MAAS Group Managing Director, Wes Maas, said it is part of a wider plan to grow the Dubbo community.

"We're creating a connected community hub for Dubbo's growing Southlakes area," he said. "The Village will offer a fresh retail experience designed around convenience, community, and local lifestyle."

The Village, Southlakes, has been designed to meet the evolving needs of Dubbo's expanding population, with a modern and sustainable layout and a carefully curated mix of retail offerings, the centre aims to become a vibrant daily destination for locals.

Securing the backing of the grocery conglomerate, a site purchased in 2014, and uncertainty about zoning and inflation have complicated developer MAAS' efforts to build a shopping centre in the area.

But working with Dubbo Regional Council and other stakeholders, the development got the green light.

As Mayor Josh Black said, the announcement of the shopping centre has been eagerly anticipated by the community: "This has been a long-awaited development and it has been eagerly anticipated by everyone living in Southlakes, and people who will be living here in the near future," he said.

Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said it will be a massive economic driver for the Dubbo community.

"This is significantly good for the community and as Wes mentioned this has been thought about for 10 or 11 years, and I remember back then when it was talked about it seemed a bit too high in the sky," he explained.

"But standing here today and seeing how much work is going to go into this, it is definitely worth it."