Tawa residents face an anxious wait until they hear whether the Forest of Tane will be saved.

The 36-hectare forest is up for sale with major subdivision potential in mind, and locals are trying to save it from the clutches of developers.

Yesterday the council considered whether to use ratepayers money to buy the land and keep the forest, but is refusing to comment until the tender closes on Monday.'

MP for Ohariu Peter Dunne said it's probably a good idea.

"I suppose the one good thing you can say with certainty is they haven't said they're not doing it, but I can see their point - they just want to be careful that they've got all of their ducks lined up in a row, and I think the next few days will tell the extent to which they're going to do that."

Dunne said the decision will be met with great anticipation from locals.

"The turn out at the public meeting last weekend of over 200 demonstrates a fairly strong sense of commitment, and I guess they along with some of the local politicians will be keenly awaiting the outcome of the council's consideration."

However, he said there's other options if the council doesn't come back with the answer locals want.

He said there's still resource consents to get through and other funding avenues.