Former West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield has walked out of an extraordinary meeting, after being removed from his role

Birchfield has been on leave since December, only returning for today's meeting.

His absence has been put down to health reasons, although Stuff reports it follows a number of 'trigger points' discussed with Birchfield, but not publicly disclosed.

Grey Councillor Brett Cummings was the sole vote in support of Birchfield.