Published on Monday, 31 July 2023 at 9:36:45 AM
The Town of Port Hedland will seek to continue negotiating the terms around a hospitality operator taking on the lease of the former yacht club after closing out a formal tender process.
The Town has been seeking a suitable operator since December 2022, when it launched a two-stage tender process. It involved calling for expressions of interest from any person or organisation interested in establishing a hospitality offering at the venue, followed by a request for selected applicants to submit a tender.
Town of Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said high-quality operators with exciting proposals had been identified through that process, but further work was required to negotiate the terms of a lease on the building.
“The proposals put forward have been exciting and have shown there is a genuine interest from people out of town wanting to establish a restaurant in Hedland.
“We are not yet at the stage where we can comfortably agree on the terms of a lease of the building. As such, Council has decided to close the current formal tender process,” Mayor Carter said.
“This does not mean we have failed to find an operator. Rather, the decision means that we can proceed to negotiations around the details of what a lease agreement may look like with a view of confirming a lease in coming months.
“Time is on our side in seeking to agree these terms, as construction of the Spoilbank Marina continues and any operators would need to work alongside the Pilbara Ports Authority to gain access to the site and ensure construction is not disrupted.
“We have been advised by the Pilbara Ports Authority that a realistic timeframe for opening a hospitality venue at the yacht club may not be until April or May next year.”
The Council made the formal decision to close out the tender process at its meeting on Wednesday 26 July.
Negotiations will continue with the intention for confirmation of a lease agreement to be brought back to Council for endorsement.
The two-stage tender process attracted six expressions of interest. Two were considered to have met the evaluation criteria and were asked to submit a tender.
Media Enquiries
Town of Port Hedland, Public Relations Team
Email: media@porthedland.wa.gov.au
Phone: (08) 9111 5000
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