Phuket incident rekindles calls for demolition of buildings on Hua Hin beach
A recent incident in Phuket’s Yamu Beach has prompted people in Hua Hin to renew calls for the demolition of a long row of restaurants and buildings encroaching on its main beach.
On Wednesday, the Prachuap News Facebook page posted photographs of a row of dozens of restaurants and homestay buildings on a section of Hua Hin Beach. The structures are so deep into the beach that there is no space for people to walk, while some are even encroaching up to 20 metres into the sea. One restaurant has built a large platform accommodating more than 40 tables over the sea.
The page said that the situation in Hua Hin was far more serious than at Yamu Beach in Phuket, yet the district chief and Hua Hin Municipality have not done anything to protect the public interest.
The page added that the Marine Department, which is in charge of overseeing Thailand’s sea territory, has never announced when these platforms over the sea will be removed.
The comments took a satirical dig at the Hua Hin authorities, saying that though the seas in Phuket and Hua Hin are salty, the sea in Phuket makes the authorities swifter, while Hua Hin officials do nothing.
What inspired the questions?
The battle for public space in Hua Hin was sparked by an incident in Yamu Beach, Phuket, when a Swiss expat kicked a Thai female doctor while she was sitting on the steps of his luxury villa late last month.
The man claimed the woman was trespassing on his property, but it later turned out that the steps were up to one metre into the beach and were demolished a few days later.
The Facebook page also pointed out that though Prachuap Khiri Khan had a provincial anti-corruption office like Phuket, it did not care to find out why the district chief and Hua Hin Municipality were doing nothing to protect the public interest.
The page said the anti-corruption commission should have looked into who allowed these encroaching buildings to have street addresses that are required to apply for utilities.
Several Hua Hin residents joined the discussion, criticising local authorities and even the national government for failing to take action against such notorious encroachment of the Hua Hin Beach.
Resident Anuwat Pongdee said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had taken a personal trip to Hua Hin during the New Year holidays, yet he did not take any action over the large structures obviously encroaching on to the beach.
Ugly encroachment
The long row of encroaching restaurants and villas runs from the edge of Resdamri Road from the Hua Hin fishing pier to the Taptim spirit shrine.
After the military took over the government on May 22, 2014, General Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to send troops to try and reclaim the public space. However, the squatters refused to budge, saying it generated a huge income for them.
In response to an NCPO order, the Hua Hin Municipality invoked the Building Control Act of 1979 to order the tenants to move out, but they appealed against the order with the Central Administrative Court.
Though the court ruled that the tenants must leave as the buildings have to be demolished, they have stayed put and prefer paying daily fines instead.
Sources said many of these buildings are owned by relatives of local politicians.
A failing battle
An official from the Hua Hin Land Office, who asked not to be named, said these buildings have been encroaching on the beach for more than 30 years now. This area was initially used by the local community for fishing, but that stopped once the buildings took over the beach.
The source said the Prachuap Khiri Khan Marine Office had filed a lawsuit seeking eviction of the shops and restaurants some 20 years ago, but the provincial court rejected it because the lawsuit was filed against those who rented the buildings, not those who built them.
On Wednesday, Jirawat Prammanee, permanent secretary of the Hua Hin Municipality, said the municipality was still fighting a lawsuit against the encroachers as they had appealed against the primary court’s ruling.
Jirawat said a final court ruling can be expected within two years. He added that tenants of the encroaching buildings refused to move out because they were making good money there.
