The Plimmerton motel purchase is the first of its type in the region.

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In a first for Wellington, travellers and tourists will make way for people in need as Kāinga Ora - formerly known as Housing NZ - buys a 17-unit Plimmerton motel for transitional accommodation.

With a 1618-long waiting list for social housing in the region, the government is dipping its toe in the motel market.

Agency spokesman Andrew Booker said the government was delivering more public housing to meet an increasing need in communities.

VIRGINIA FALLON/STUFF The Spinnaker Motel will become transitional housing.

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The agency was in the final stages of buying The Spinnaker Motel in Plimmerton to provide people in urgent need of housing with a place to live while they are helped to find a permanent home.

The purchase price could not be disclosed at this stage of the process and the agency had "not at this point" bought other motels in the wider city - the Hutt Valley, Wellington and Porirua - for housing.

VIRGINIA FALLON/STUFF Some neighbours are irate they weren't notified of the the change.

Costs for emergency housing have skyrocketed and Stuff revealed in February the Government spent almost $100 million to cover emergency housing for the first nine months of 2019.

Kāinga Ora expected to take ownership of the property, on the corner of Grays Ave and State Highway 1 opposite Plimmerton Village, in May and, following maintenance and upgrade work, people would be referred to the new accommodation between June and July.

The motel had 17 units. It would not be used "for the intention of housing and reintegrating recently released prisoners into the community".

While Booker said the agency would be in contact with the community to provide more information, the community itself was aware of the new owner.

Nearby residents didn't want to be named - or accused of NIMBYism- but they were unanimous in their concerns.

Spinnaker Motel website. The motel is advertised as having a children's play area, barbecue area and guest laundry

All were worried about what sort of people would be housed at the motel, and were upset they weren't notified about the change in resource consent.

​One man was afraid intensive housing could lower property prices for surrounding houses and change the atmosphere of the "tight-knit community".

"This is a decile 10 area and people have spent their money buying houses here because of that ... it's not fair that we didn't get a say ... we don't want to live next to a housing project."

Another resident, who found out about the sale through social media, was worried about safety.

"Everyone needs a place to live but home owners should have been told and given the chance to object. This is a nice place and we want to keep it that way."

VIRGINIA FALLON/STUFF The motel is on the corner of State Highway 1, soon to be bypassed by Transmission Gully.

Booker said a contractor would manage and maintain the homes, making sure residents received any support they needed, and help them find a permanent place to live.

"A key focus will be ensuring the residents settle into their homes and the community well ... so they are good neighbours."

Porirua City Mayor Anita Baker said given the high demand for social housing, "we have to accept imperfect solutions until we can resolve the housing squeeze".

Currently 1618 applicants are waiting for a house in the Wellington region, of those 277 are waiting in Porirua City.

WHY NO NOTIFICATION?

Non-notified change-of-use consent was granted as there would be no additional development and occupancy and noise levels would not increase.

Conditions of consent included minimum outdoor spaces separated by trellis or privacy screening, a 2 metre high close board fence along the southern perimeter and removal of existing motel signage.

An on-site manager would be responsible for daily management of the site, including noise, parking, and waste management.