A regional council just wants to change its name, but the decision keeps getting harder.

The Shire of Roebourne wants to change its name to match Karratha - a larger town around half an hour away in remote Western Australia.

One councillor proposed ‘City of Karratha’, but the shire then voted on ‘Karratha City Council’ at a meeting last December.

The name ‘Karratha City Council’  has now been rejected by the Local Government Advisory Board.

The Board says the name does not fit with the stipulations of the Local Government Act

The Act states that; “the corporate name of [a] local government is the combination of the district’s designation and name,” placing the word ‘City’ first in its example.

It is understood that the Local Government Advisory Board’s objection was based on this specific formatting.

Shire president Peter Long said it seemed fine at the time, but the decision may have been “hasty”.

“It was a long discussion ... it had gone on for a long time,” he said.

“One of the members proposed that and I think people just wanted to get it happening, so it went that way.

“It could've gone either way. It probably was a little bit hasty thinking about it but actually it can't happen because it doesn't accord with the legislation.”

The council had intended to decide on a new name at a meeting this week, possibly going with the original ‘City of Karratha’, but instead deferred its decision for a later date.

The plan to combine the shires of Karratha and Roebourne into a single city has met with opposition from Roebourne residents, who have claimed it is an attempt to wash over the town’s reputation to attract more investment.