Stories by Lois Williams

If West Coast Regional Council chair Allan Birchfield is unseated, his deputy wants the job.

Beleaguered West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield has rejected claims that he bullied council staff and tried to interfere with resource consent decisions.

An attempted coup is underway at the West Coast Regional Council with a bid to roll the chairperson Allan Birchfield.

The little town of 900 is the first in New Zealand to have the shots on offer to the general public.

Field inspections will begin on the West Coast this winter to decide if significant natural areas (SNAs) spotted by researchers using maps, are in fact worth protecting.

The company hoping to reopen the old Sugarloaf quarry in South Westland says it needs access to stewardship conservation land to minimise visual impact, maximise the resource and do the job safely.

The West Coast Regional Council has taken no further action against two private dumps that were found to be bending the rules of their resource consents.

The government has approved a scaled-down version of the Franz Josef flood protection plan, but one which will still be a major shot in the arm for the stricken tourist town.

A surge of New Zealand visitors to the West Coast has been a boon to communities, but the increased presence of dogs poses a problem for the wildlife-rich region.

Sweeping reforms to the public health system have been met with cautious optimism on the West Coast.

A claim the West Coast Regional Council is being anti-competitive in its dealings over quarries and rock supply contracts is being angrily rejected.

The West Coast District Health Board says children in urgent need of mental health support are getting it, despite an overall increase in waiting times for the service.

The new combined district plan for the West Coast will recognise the land rights and rangatiratanga of Poutini Ngāi Tahu by creating Māori purpose zones on ancestral whenua.

Anyone who thinks the Buller District Council supports an end to coal mining should read the full submission to the Climate Change Commission, says John Bougen.

Residential development in Greymouth's commercial area could kickstart the revival of the town's down-at-heel CBD, according to experts working on a new district plan for the West Coast.

Kaikōura is better placed than most districts when it comes to the cost of renewing old pipes and roads - largely because of the 2016 earthquake, a council report says.

The government's RMA reforms have forced West Coast councils working on a combined district plan to speed up their process and finish a year early.

West Coast District Health Board chairperson Rick Barker says he intends to personally review the board's real estate portfolio, with a view to rationalising it.

Poutini Ngāi Tahu has settled its legal action against West Coast Regional Council over the mapping of Māori land as protected wetland.

A challenge to pay a living wage and lift the earnings of its lowest-paid staff has been issued to the West Coast District Health Board by the chairman of its board.

Sea Spurge is a tough European succulent that first invaded New Zealand shores in 2012 and is now starting to crop up on beaches around the country.

West Coast Regional Council has been accused of causing coastal erosion by allowing big companies to take too much gravel from riverbeds.

A Maruia farmer is threatening to burn off 80ha of native bush on his property and turn it into pasture in a bid to raise its value and save his farm.

A Kaikōura woman is asking the council to urgently reconsider the idea of creating a Māori ward.

Australian miner Oceana Gold has come in for plaudits from the Department of Conservation for its restoration work at the former Globe Progress goldmine near Reefton.