Stories by Lois Williams

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.

A Kaikōura man is challenging the council to take action over the growing number of illegal signs and hoardings "cluttering" the town and the district.

The annual budget for work on the West Coast's new district plan is heading for the $1 million mark, and the project will cost ratepayers at least $2.6 million over the next three years.

Tourist attractions or industrial sites? The future rules for West Coast ports have come under close scrutiny this week from the Tai o Poutini Plan Committee.

A proposal that councils should deal with iwi other than Poutini Ngāi Tahu over historic sites and wahi tapu has been rejected.

The West Coast may have the cleanest rivers in the country but a six-monthly review has shown the regional council is struggling to meet some of the goals it has set in relation to freshwater.

About 150 properties in Buller have been affected by a council error that wrongly classified them - and saw some facing potential rate increases of up to 300 percent.

The National Bowel Screening programme is coming to the West Coast with free tests for people aged 60 to 74.

Summer has seen no let-up in the number of dodgy environmental deeds investigated by West Coast Regional Council.

Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine today reassured Reefton residents facing huge rate hikes that any errors in their estimated bills will be fixed.

Some property owners in Reefton are in for whopping rate increases of more than 200 percent if the Buller District Council adopts a proposed new rating formula.

National Party list MP Maureen Pugh says the Franz Josef community is in desperate need of the $24m project to shore up the floodwalls around local village.

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith is rejecting a claim by the region's MP Damien O'Connor that there is no long-term plan for the future of Franz Josef township.

Government officials have put the brakes on the $24 million project to shore up the floodwalls around Franz Josef Glacier village and build a new bridge over the wild Waiho (Waiau) River.

Wheelchair users in Reefton will soon have a safe way of crossing the town's main street, State Highway 7.

A West Coast patient died last year because hospital staff failed to realise the person's condition had deteriorated and did not transfer them in time to a tertiary-level hospital.

Getting around Reefton used to be relatively easy for wheelchair-user Lisa Neil, but that changed after works on the main street and state highways.

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith has appealed to the government to release funds for flood protection work at Franz Josef Glacier before the town dies through tourism starvation.

The West Coast is on the verge of gaining at least one new ghost town unless the government comes through with promised life-support for Franz Josef Glacier, a councillor for the region says.

The West Coast Regional Council is taking a closer look at the row over the Ross lake, where someone has been dismantling a weir built by volunteers to control the lake levels.

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith says his council is willing to help resolve the ongoing stoush over water levels in the artificial Ross Lake, but the regional council is the regulator and should act.

In recent weeks, various medics and their union have aired their views on the use of 'rural generalists', a new breed of doctor increasingly being employed on the West Coast.

West Coast councils are split over what Airbnbs are doing to local communities - and they want a steer from the community on how to treat them.