PHUKET: Notices giving 39 businesses along the foreshore at Phuket's five-star Surin beach a deadline of 30 days to vacate and demolish their premises were posted yesterday.
The notices, authorised by Thalang District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol, mean that April 18 becomes the latest deadline for clearing commerce from the shorefront, noted for its popular beach clubs and restaurants.
Managers of nearby five-star resorts say that the casual upmarket ambience of Surin beach will be destroyed if bulldozers raze the beach clubs and restaurants.
Khun Veera was previously Kathu District Chief, overseeing the Patong area where he made waves by arresting law-breakers before being banished briefly to another province.
His signature on the notices delivered yesterday carries more weight than the previous order by Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-Ann Samran for the businesses to be vacated and demolished, which expires early next month.
Some of the businesses are well-known and have fans all over the world. The demolition order applies to Catch Beach Club, Bimi, Zazada, Diamond Cliff, Taste, Pla, Salt, Divers Bar, Twin Brothers restaurant, the Red Tablecloth and others.
While some businesses have been operating for years, The Pool Beach Club, a large gleaming white concrete establishment towards the southern end of the foreshore, is still being constructed and has yet to open.
A formidable building being erected over rocks nearby is also expected to come under scrutiny.
All businesses on the seaward side of Surin's beach path were cleared last year, opening up a superb vista of the beach that hadn't been viewed for years because of the illegal private structures that made money from public land.
Surin and other beaches on Phuket where clearances have taken place haven't looked so good since the 2004 tsunami.
Surin's masseuses have also been moved to premises on the shoreward side of the path that runs the length of the beach, freeing the seaward side from virtually all commerce.
Surin beach was at its best when a Phuketwan reporter visited the shorefront earlier this week.
However, while the Phuketwan reporter looked on, officials and the military arrived in a pickup convoy and erected notices and ropes delineating several umbrella zones at the back of the beach.
The umbrella only sections are part of a plan by the Governor of Phuket, Nisit Jansomwong, for a ''10 percent zone'' that would be the only place where umbrellas are permitted.
It was plain this week that there are far too many umbrellas being used by swimmers at Surin to fit into the governor's corrals.
In any case, swimmers prefer to place their umbrellas on the hard sand closer to the sea, where their feet will not be burned running to the water.
The governor's insistence on conducting his experiment at all of Phuket's beaches - rather than selecting just one for trials - is likely to alienate the rich five-star tourists at Surin if it proceeds.
Under the edict, all beach chairs and umbrellas are banned outside of the 10 percent zones on every Phuket beach.
Phuket's police are clearly reluctant to force tourists to give up their chairs and umbrellas.
Tourists will be outraged - if the plan proceeds. For now, local authorities are going through the motions. It's a stand-off, a lie-in, a sit-down at Phuket's beaches.
However, if the order is given to seize beach chairs and umbrellas, that will bring to an end Phuket's appeal to tourists from Europe and Australia.
Meanwhile, the clock is now ticking for Surin's beach clubs and resorts, with April 18 at midnight.
The notices, authorised by Thalang District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol, mean that April 18 becomes the latest deadline for clearing commerce from the shorefront, noted for its popular beach clubs and restaurants.
Managers of nearby five-star resorts say that the casual upmarket ambience of Surin beach will be destroyed if bulldozers raze the beach clubs and restaurants.
Khun Veera was previously Kathu District Chief, overseeing the Patong area where he made waves by arresting law-breakers before being banished briefly to another province.
His signature on the notices delivered yesterday carries more weight than the previous order by Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-Ann Samran for the businesses to be vacated and demolished, which expires early next month.
Some of the businesses are well-known and have fans all over the world. The demolition order applies to Catch Beach Club, Bimi, Zazada, Diamond Cliff, Taste, Pla, Salt, Divers Bar, Twin Brothers restaurant, the Red Tablecloth and others.
While some businesses have been operating for years, The Pool Beach Club, a large gleaming white concrete establishment towards the southern end of the foreshore, is still being constructed and has yet to open.
A formidable building being erected over rocks nearby is also expected to come under scrutiny.
All businesses on the seaward side of Surin's beach path were cleared last year, opening up a superb vista of the beach that hadn't been viewed for years because of the illegal private structures that made money from public land.
Surin and other beaches on Phuket where clearances have taken place haven't looked so good since the 2004 tsunami.
Surin's masseuses have also been moved to premises on the shoreward side of the path that runs the length of the beach, freeing the seaward side from virtually all commerce.
Surin beach was at its best when a Phuketwan reporter visited the shorefront earlier this week.
However, while the Phuketwan reporter looked on, officials and the military arrived in a pickup convoy and erected notices and ropes delineating several umbrella zones at the back of the beach.
The umbrella only sections are part of a plan by the Governor of Phuket, Nisit Jansomwong, for a ''10 percent zone'' that would be the only place where umbrellas are permitted.
It was plain this week that there are far too many umbrellas being used by swimmers at Surin to fit into the governor's corrals.
In any case, swimmers prefer to place their umbrellas on the hard sand closer to the sea, where their feet will not be burned running to the water.
The governor's insistence on conducting his experiment at all of Phuket's beaches - rather than selecting just one for trials - is likely to alienate the rich five-star tourists at Surin if it proceeds.
Under the edict, all beach chairs and umbrellas are banned outside of the 10 percent zones on every Phuket beach.
Phuket's police are clearly reluctant to force tourists to give up their chairs and umbrellas.
Tourists will be outraged - if the plan proceeds. For now, local authorities are going through the motions. It's a stand-off, a lie-in, a sit-down at Phuket's beaches.
However, if the order is given to seize beach chairs and umbrellas, that will bring to an end Phuket's appeal to tourists from Europe and Australia.
Meanwhile, the clock is now ticking for Surin's beach clubs and resorts, with April 18 at midnight.
Glad to see that someone has put more teeth into the removal of these illegal businesses. We shall see if it really happens in April. Typically appeals and delays drag these things out for months or even years, but hopes remain high.
Posted by Scudman on March 20, 2015 08:44