No deal on the Port Hedland Yacht Club as negotiations continue with the two proposed takeover bids

The Port Hedland Yacht Club building will remain vacant for the foreseeable future with the Council unable to reach a decision on the two business proposals for the building. At the July 26 ordinary council meeting the Council decided to close out the tender process for the Yacht Club after narrowing the proposals to two at the meeting in May. Mayor Peter Carter said chief executive Carl Askew was still negotiating the two bids and that he believed they were strong proposals. “The CEO will negotiate with the two final tenders and hopefully they will work out that one of them will get it,” he said. “If they can’t come to an arrangement, I guess the CEO will put it out to tender again. “I believe that the two tenders that we have are very good and it’s just the fine-tuning (the details).” Cr Carter said that it was common for the CEO to undertake negotiations of this nature and the Town confirmed that both business proponents have been informed of the council’s decision and are willing to continue the negotiation process. The building has been surrounded by controversy since the Yacht Club’s closure in February 2022, when members were taken aback at the lack of communication before its sudden shutdown. Former Yacht Club commodore Adam Snell had partly blamed construction on the Spoilbank Marina for the venue’s closure. The Town of Port Hedland has been seeking a hospitality operator to take over the site since it opened expressions of interest on December 14, 2022. If an agreement is reached between the Town and one of the proponents the decision will return to the Council for its endorsement.