The sale of the Old Boys' Rugby Football Club site at Okara is still on the cards despite the passing of a key sale confirmation deadline. The Whangarei District Council has an agreement with BWH properties to sell the site for $20 million so that a big box shopping centre developmentcan be built there. One of the conditions of the agreement was that the developer had to lodge a resource consent application with the council before yesterday. The council has not received a resource consent application from BWH properties, but the sale and development may yet go ahead. Wayne Hill, leader of the BWH consortium, said he had been given a one-month extension by the council to finalise the deal. "We're still very keen to go ahead with it," he said. "Within this next month we'll have it nailed down and put to bed." Mr Hill would not, however, give any further details of the development which is said to feature an international cornerstone retailer not currently represented in Northland. The council was also cautious about saying too much on the deal, releasing the following comment on behalf of Acting Mayor Phil Halse. "The procedure when deadlines lapse in this kind of situation is for work to continue on the project while council and all parties involved consider the process going forward." Old Boys' Rugby Football Club president Mike Lee said the club was negotiating with the council as to when and where the club would relocate. The club was looking at two sites - Rugby Park in Regent or William Fraser Memorial Park on Pohe Island - and would inform the council of its preference within a month, Mr Lee said. "We've got to look at what's easiest for us and which site would work best for us," he said.
