The Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) has released a statement on Tuesday following the resignation of president Nic Kock at the association's AGM on Monday night.
Kock, in announcing his resignation, said that his position had become untenable.
"I can no longer serve as the president of the WPCA. My position has become untenable. I had been asked to sign a lease on behalf of the WPCA, but I could not," said Kock.
"Signing that would put the WPCA in a very difficult financial position. I made it quite clear that I have a particular view on how I wanted to pursue our interaction with our partners in the development going forward."
Kock added that the Covid-19 pandemic created "a whole new context to this lease agreement".
"I was not prepared to sign off on the lease. I could not, with a clear conscience, do that. The impact this would have on our club cricket would weigh heaviest on my conscience. My resignation is effective at the end of this meeting," he concluded.
On Tuesday afternoon, WPCA said that the construction project remained viable.
The development is a joint venture between Sanlam Life and Western Province Property Holdings Pty Ltd and includes over 20 000m2 of new commercial space.
"Whilst Kock has expressed his view, the WPCA and the co-owners of the NCG however remain confident that the North Precinct Development remains an exciting and viable venture which will create long-term benefits not only for them, but also for WPCA and the cricket fraternity as a whole," said the statement.
"Roughly 50% of the commercial space has been designed for office usage, with the balance being educational - ensuring that the Newlands Cricket Ground continues its tradition of being a fountain for youth.
"Varsity College have signed a long-term lease and will be relocating to the NCG from its current Rondebosch location, whilst CPUT will be creating an exciting new sports management campus complete with a Sports Science Laboratory. Restaurants, cafes and an open-air piazza complete the mix.
Over 800 parking bays will be provided and great care has been placed in designing separate vehicle and pedestrianised journeys. A brand-new pedestrian bridge will span across the railway line, providing a much needed connection to the Newlands Station, to Claremont's CBD or to the Main Road along the tree-lined Liesbeek River flanked by the famous Brewery and Josephine's Mill," the statement added.
WPCA confirmed, however, that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the completion date for the project had been extended to July 2021.
Initially, the plan was to complete the development by January 2021.
Read the full statement here.
- Compiled by Sport24 staff