PHUKET: Final notices giving the remaining businesses on Phuket's Surin shorefront 30 days to vacate will be handed out tomorrow, local Mayor Ma-Ann Samran said today.
''If the buildings remain occupied, then police will act when the notice period expires,'' Mayor Ma-Ann said. ''It is our intention to demolish all of the buildings.''
Cherng Talay municipality followed orders from the military to clear all commerce from Surin and other beaches and beach foreshores after the Army took control of Thailand on May 22 last year.
All of the beach clubs and restaurants on the seaward side of a path that stretched the length of the beach were bulldozed but some well-known brands remained open and continued to operate on the other side of the path.
Catch, Bimi and Zazada are three names that have become famous as beach clubs at Surin with Taste, Pla, the Red Tablecloth, Salt and Twin Brothers among the restaurants that have continued to open and prosper.
The lucrative Surin businesses are not likely to close without a fight. Precise arrangements under which the shorefront businesses originally opened without action by local authorities remain unclear.
Catch Beach Club is regarded as Phuket's first beach club and it spawned a long list of imitators at Surin and other beaches.
The managers at the resorts around Surin say the beach will lose its present character without the beach clubs and restaurants.
Mayor Ma-Ann said today that a row of shops was constructed along the Surin shorefront to help locals recover after the 2004 tsunami - even though Surin beach was not seriously affected.
''Those buildings that remain occupied by the original recipients of the tsunami aid are possibly still legal,'' the mayor said. ''The rest are illegal.''
Questions are also being asked about a large new development at the southern end of Surin beach that appears to be embedded on rocks not far from the high-water mark.
''If the buildings remain occupied, then police will act when the notice period expires,'' Mayor Ma-Ann said. ''It is our intention to demolish all of the buildings.''
Cherng Talay municipality followed orders from the military to clear all commerce from Surin and other beaches and beach foreshores after the Army took control of Thailand on May 22 last year.
All of the beach clubs and restaurants on the seaward side of a path that stretched the length of the beach were bulldozed but some well-known brands remained open and continued to operate on the other side of the path.
Catch, Bimi and Zazada are three names that have become famous as beach clubs at Surin with Taste, Pla, the Red Tablecloth, Salt and Twin Brothers among the restaurants that have continued to open and prosper.
The lucrative Surin businesses are not likely to close without a fight. Precise arrangements under which the shorefront businesses originally opened without action by local authorities remain unclear.
Catch Beach Club is regarded as Phuket's first beach club and it spawned a long list of imitators at Surin and other beaches.
The managers at the resorts around Surin say the beach will lose its present character without the beach clubs and restaurants.
Mayor Ma-Ann said today that a row of shops was constructed along the Surin shorefront to help locals recover after the 2004 tsunami - even though Surin beach was not seriously affected.
''Those buildings that remain occupied by the original recipients of the tsunami aid are possibly still legal,'' the mayor said. ''The rest are illegal.''
Questions are also being asked about a large new development at the southern end of Surin beach that appears to be embedded on rocks not far from the high-water mark.
We have gone to phuket for the last twenty years and enjoyed all it had to offer. The beach chairs the umbrellas the restaurants right on or along the beach and then the beach clubs when they opened.One of the main things we look forward to these days is going for lunch and dinner at the catch and bimi in particular but there would be no real reason for us to go to surin anymore if they are removed. A lot of locals would rely on the jobs and money brought in by these businesses its a terrible shame to remove them.
Posted by Dazz on February 22, 2015 12:00
Editor Comment:
Have no fear, Dazz, the mayor has a bold plan to provide food and drink for tourists at a municipal facility.