Hitch in bid to sell Tua's Pakiri land

Developers wanting to sell David Tua's 51ha Pakiri Beach land have hit another stumbling block - their plan to subdivide has been opened to public submissions.

The Rodney District Council has decided to publicly notifiy the developers' plan to divide the block into five chunks, enabling the public to comment on its desirability.

The council decided to take the public's views into consideration because Pakiri Beach is a high-profile and contentious site with conservation and Maori interests, said spokesman Mark Fenwick.

Tua, who fought a world heavyweight title bout against Lennox Lewis in 2000, does not want to sell and has a caveat on the title which prevents sale.