Apart from the disruption to the council s work, the continued suspension posed a financial risk ultimately to ratepayers, O Connor said. If there are concerns, they need to be addressed but this is an untenable situation and needs to be sorted as soon as possible. An email shows the chief executive had spoken to the Department of Internal Affairs about his concerns over council delays in finalising the long-term plan, which features a 30 per cent rate rise.
Joanne Carroll/Stuff
Chairman Allan Birchfield himself is now facing relegation, with a majority of four councillors backing the bid to remove him at a special meeting on May 31.
West Coast council crisis could cost ratepayers, MP warns rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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.
Landowners who try to pre-empt the SNA designation by clearing the land now could find themselves in breach of the existing rules (File image).
Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
The West Coast Regional Council says a desktop study of potential SNAs should be complete by the end of June, and the affected landowners will then be asked if an ecologist can undertake an on-site assessment.
If the landowner refuses, the site will automatically be assumed to be an SNA and protected under new rules now being developed by the Tai o Poutini Plan Committee in accordance with the Resource Management Act.
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.
Greymouth (file image).
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King;
It will need detailed consultation with the Mawhera Incorporation - the Māori landowners of much of the area involved.
Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee, made up of West Coast councils and iwi, scrutinised the mixed-use zone proposal at its meeting last week.
The zoning would allow developers with resource consent to renovate old buildings as apartments or build new accommodation within easy walking distance of the Greymouth town centre.
GEORGE HEARD/STUFF
New zoning rules would allow developers with resource consent to renovate old buildings as apartments or build new accommodation within easy walking distance of the Greymouth town centre.
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. But it will need detailed consultation with the Mawhera Incorporation – the Māori landowners of much of the area involved. Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee, made up of West Coast councils and iwi, scrutinised the mixed-use zone proposal at its meeting last week.