PHUKET: The remaining beach clubs and restaurants at Phuket's five-star Surin beach would be given 30 days' notice on Monday to show cause why they are legal and should not be demolished, a meeting heard today.
Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-Ann Samran told the meeting at the Royal Thai Navy base at Cape Panwa, on Phuket's east coast, that administrative problems and different laws had so far prevented him from having the show-cause notices posted.
Catch Beach Club, Bimi and Zazada and a handful of well-known restaurants continue to open and attract large numbers of tourists along the shorefront at Surin.
All of the beach clubs and restaurants on the seaward side of a path that runs almost the entire length of the beach have been bulldozed since the military took charge of Thailand on May 22.
In the aftermath of the devastating 2004 tsunami, local councils constructed rows of shopfront-style buildings along the other side of the path to help local residents recover.
Buildings that retain the same original shape and are still operated by the people allocated help in 2005 are regarded as legal.
Buildings that are no longer shop-shape or operated by other people are not considered legal, authorities have previously said.
The beach clubs and restaurants at Surin have proved to be enormously popular but by the time of the military takeover last year, some entrepreneurs were laying claims to large slabs of the public beach as well.
There is also a building under construction at the southern end of Surin beach that appears to breach the rule that only low-level buildings are allowed within 50 metres of the high tide mark.
West coast mayors, senior Royal Thai Navy officers and Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong met with Phuket's media today to explain the future of Phuket's beaches and shorefronts.
Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-Ann Samran told the meeting at the Royal Thai Navy base at Cape Panwa, on Phuket's east coast, that administrative problems and different laws had so far prevented him from having the show-cause notices posted.
Catch Beach Club, Bimi and Zazada and a handful of well-known restaurants continue to open and attract large numbers of tourists along the shorefront at Surin.
All of the beach clubs and restaurants on the seaward side of a path that runs almost the entire length of the beach have been bulldozed since the military took charge of Thailand on May 22.
In the aftermath of the devastating 2004 tsunami, local councils constructed rows of shopfront-style buildings along the other side of the path to help local residents recover.
Buildings that retain the same original shape and are still operated by the people allocated help in 2005 are regarded as legal.
Buildings that are no longer shop-shape or operated by other people are not considered legal, authorities have previously said.
The beach clubs and restaurants at Surin have proved to be enormously popular but by the time of the military takeover last year, some entrepreneurs were laying claims to large slabs of the public beach as well.
There is also a building under construction at the southern end of Surin beach that appears to breach the rule that only low-level buildings are allowed within 50 metres of the high tide mark.
West coast mayors, senior Royal Thai Navy officers and Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong met with Phuket's media today to explain the future of Phuket's beaches and shorefronts.
Well, nice to see that when the Navy comes to town, local officials finally stand up and show some action, albeit a day late and a dollar short. Certain beach clubs at Surin have essentially thumbed their noses at the rules and continue to dominate their areas of the beach. One restaurant on the south end of the bay that was partially demolished (and their debris dumped on the beach) has since remodeled their facility far beyond the "same original shape" and is just about ready to open for business. The other monstrosity of a building under construction at the southern end of Surin beach not only "appears to breach the rule that only low-level buildings are allowed within 50 metres of the high tide mark", but this horribly designed structure has far exceeded the "low-level" criteria, and has not only destroyed the charm of the area, but has also diminished the quality of the water at the south end of Surin Bay (just wait for the rains, as well as a fully operational hotel and all their blue wastewater lines running onto the beach).
Posted by Ed Sanders on February 12, 2015 15:13