Westland Mayor has rubbished plans to move tourist town of Franz Josef saying the town is staying put.

The West Coast Regional council commissioned a report into the town's future to protect it from natural disasters.

Moving it, is one option in a West Coast Regional Council-commissioned report on the town's future.

But Mayor Bruce Smith told Mike Hosking they're focused on other options.

"We choose to live here we know there's a fault line, we either live by a river or we live by the sea all of us, but the reality is we're not shifting."

Bruce Smith said they are working on protecting the town not moving it.

"We'd protect the river, we'd protect the town and we'd carry on."

The town is home to 221 ratepayers but attracts more than half a million visitors a year.

LISTEN ABOVE AS BRUCE SMITH TALKS TO MIKE HOSKING