West Coast council gives green light for bridge protection work
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The green light has been given to a raft of projects around the West Coast, including bridge protection work.
In August, the West Coast Regional Council granted 12 non-notified resource consent applications.
This included plans by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to protect the State Highway 73 Otira River Bridge, west of the Otira Gorge.
The river will be temporarily diverted to build protection structures around the eastern bridge abutment and the central pier.
Down river, KiwiRail gained consents to undertake earthworks, remove gravel, and divert water courses on the Otira and Taramakau rivers, to maintain protection work for the Midland Railway, as far as Jacksons.
In Buller, NZTA gained consent to secure the lower Buller Gorge section of State Highway 6 near Westport, at Island Creek, to protect the eastern abutment of a bridge on the creek.
Also in the lower Buller Gorge, at White Cliffs, the agency will undertake protection work at Clearwater Creek, including installing a weir in the creek bed, underneath and downstream of the bridge.
Oceana Gold sought permission to discharge seepage and leachate mine water to a tributary of Progress Creek from a pond, part of the management system for the mothballed Globe Progress Mine, near Reefton.
Buller District Council gained consent to dispose solid waste in a landfill at Maruia, including leachate from a refuse landfill where it may enter water.
The regional council also granted five applications to change conditions on previously granted consents.
This included Westland Mineral Sands at Okari, Cape Foulwind, being allowed to do earthworks within 5m of a drain.
Others related to gravel extraction and an application to change a whitebait stand design on the Taramakau River.
Time to Tickle Your Thinker 🧠
If a zookeeper had 100 pairs of animals in her zoo, and two pairs of babies are born for each one of the original animals, then (sadly) 23 animals don’t survive, how many animals do you have left in total?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Poll: As a customer, what do you think about automation?
The Press investigates the growing reliance on your unpaid labour.
Automation (or the “unpaid shift”) is often described as efficient ... but it tends to benefit employers more than consumers.
We want to know: What do you think about automation?
Are you for, or against?
-
9.5% For. Self-service is less frustrating and convenient.
-
43.4% I want to be able to choose.
-
47.1% Against. I want to deal with people.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Loading…
