Town of Port Hedland seeks new tenant for Port Hedland Yacht Club

Pilbara restauranteurs are being invited to register their interest for the chance to take over one of Port Hedland’s most desirable locations — the former Port Hedland Yacht Club. From December 14, an expression of interest for hospitality operators to take over the site is open, with Town of Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter touting it as a promising opportunity to become part of the drawcard Spoilbank Marina development. Mr Carter said it was a positive step forward for the venue, which had previously struggled to stay afloat. “The former yacht club was a popular venue for the Hedland community and visitors alike and we have been committed to seeing a hospitality offering return as soon as possible,” he said. “We needed to carry out substantial work on the venue before seeking expressions of interest. I’m pleased that we’re now at a point where we can start conversations about this future hospitality offering.” The venue is adjacent to the Spoilbank Marina development, which will see the precinct completely transform and draw substantial foot traffic. “The marina development will be a major drawcard for Hedland, and we want to see the former yacht club building transformed into a venue that offers something different for the local community and visitors,” Mayor Carter said. “We’re looking for hospitality operators who have proven experience operating successful venues, and that will create an offering to complement the future Spoilbank Marina development.” The Expression of Interest is open until January 25. It comes after a long-running saga saw the venue enter administration and close its doors in February. Members were left scratching their heads at the sudden closure with no communication from the committee, while the general manager told the North West Telegraph she found out she had lost her job through Facebook. At the time, Port Hedland Yacht club commodore Adam Snell confirmed the club had closed but said they “haven’t had a chance to communicate” to members exactly what the situation was. The saga turned ugly when Mr Snell blamed the Spoilbank Marina for the Club’s downfall. He said the yacht club’s business was “essentially destroyed” by the marina. “Not only have we had no incentives or kickbacks, but the people who were sponsoring the club have been disincentivised to do so. We’ve not been able to even maintain the sponsor list we had,” he said. “Everyone thinks we’re getting millions of dollars. We’ve been given nothing from the entire marina. “One of the major miners declined to hold their Christmas party at the club because it was ‘too construction-y’ and that’s like a $20,000 loss.” The Town of Port Hedland dismissed Mr Snell’s claims that the Town’s lack of support during construction of the marina had contributed to the club’s closure. A Town spokesperson said it had taken several actions to assist the yacht club. “The Town authorised the refinancing of loans to reduce interest payments (and) suspended loan repayments with no penalty for over 12 months,” they said. “The Town also engaged consultants at no cost to the yacht club to develop a business plan to map out how operations could adapt to the marina’s ongoing construction. “In June 2020, council endorsed a new lease with the yacht club to provide a portion of land on the eastern side of the Spoilbank where they could undertake sailing activities and training.” The spokesperson said the Town had waived planning and building permit fees for the relocation of two sea containers, as well as fees associated with the disposal of “significant amounts” of junk material. While Mr Snell said that while these statements from the Town were “technically true”, the business consultant was never seen.