Wellington, May 14 NZPA - Residents in the Hastings suburb of Flaxmere are celebrating after coming up trumps in their battle to keep a new community probation services centre out of the central business district.

The Corrections Department planned to build the centre on a vacant lot in the small shopping centre, but after community protests and general uproar, Corrections Minister Judith Collins announced today the centre would be built in a more discreet part of Flaxmere, where a new building site had been made available.

Hastings District Council Flaxmere ward councillor Henare O'Keefe said community spirit had won through.

"We had nothing else to depend on but one another, and for that reason alone I'm ecstatic," he told NZPA. "What happened here, you can't buy that, and I wouldn't give up the love of these people for all the gold in the world."

Mr O'Keefe said uniting a community to fight a cause could be a powerful tool.

"This beloved suburb of ours has risen to the challenge and come out on top against the odds."

He said there were social problems that needed addressing in Flaxmere and the community was not against the centre itself, but there were aspirations for the central business district and a corrections facility was the wrong fit.

Corrections Minister Judith Collins said today she was pleased with the outcome and credited Hastings District Council, the Corrections Department and locals for a successful outcome, along with local MP Craig Foss.

Mr O'Keefe said the new site on the outskirts of the village was acceptable and "ticked all the boxes".