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Demolition orders issued to 78 more Phuket beach encroachers


webfact

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I live in Pattaya and I agree with what they are doing in Phuket and that should do the same here. One of the problems is Thai's are used to setting up a business anywhere they think Look along the roads in town or anywhere and there they are with mobile food carts, they find a plot of land along a street and set up business. Trying to get up some of the side Soi's of beach road Pattaya is nearly impossible because of these mobile food , ice cream and drinks carts. Does anyone do anything Answer" NO because someone is getting a big back hander for looking the other way. That's Thailand for you but it is great to see since the coup that a clean up in many areas is happening and I do not just mean the beach topic but even amongst the Police and various other departments.

Edited by martinr47
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when laws IN the laws are created (corruption) ordinary people are duped, by the same law that supposed to protect them.

The touts brigades should have been send packing years ago.

It will take time to refurnish/re-educate the officials involved, probably the main reason why lobby is strong for a return to 'normality' WITH 78 illegal structures on the beaches.

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Go the Junta, it just keeps getting better every day and going from strength to strength. They "seem" at least to be fighting the corruption that has always plagued foreigners and doing a lot of positive things for the Thai people. Realistically it should not matter whether the Junta caters to falangs or not and rightly so this should be all about Thailand but it is really encouraging to see so many positive steps being taken recently. Congratulations the NCPO keep doing what your doing clap2.gif

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Can't help but feel it is just a temp solution, when the next elections happen I can see the structures returning and even bigger in size as they now have a nice blank canvas to work on. Expats and tourists complaining about the number of building works on the beach will become the norm again. To much money swirling around to miss an opportunity for a quick baht.

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None of these businesses would be there if they were not being used. As a tourist I like to have beaches with facilities, restaurants, bars so that I can enjoy these pleasures within touching distance of the waters edge. When I am on a beach I like to have a comfortable sunbed to lie on and shading to get out of the sun. I am not saying all beaches should be like this and of course some should be left in a natural state. The problem is that because planned development isn't allowed people will occupy illegally, especially when nothing is done about it for decades. There has always been a conflict between what tourists come to see and the facilities they expect to support their stay. In Wales where I live there are some fantastic beaches but the best are fairly inaccessible to wheelchair users or even those with limited physical ability - keeping things completely unspoilt does not always make them available to all. The people who oppose sensible facilities and development here are usually those who have built high price homes in the area and who do not really want to share their paradise with others. Thailand wants to attract tourists (who spend money rather than just enjoy nature!) and such tourists currently go to areas that have lots of facilities. Such people often argue that they like "unspoilt" places but in reality they also want the comfort that "spoils" them. Of course these things need to be balanced and planned properly but I don't think that stripping beaches back to nature only is the way. Just saying that there is another side to the coin.

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A big relieve that finally justice will be done. The businesses which illegally occupied state owned land should consider that their claimed "right" denies the legal right from others.

The next step should be cleaning up all over Thailand the illegally occupied sidewalk spaces and organizing divided parking lots for motorbikes and cars. In general: the chaotic traffic situations in every Thai city. That would give a real boost to the image of Thailand. But I'm very happy already with these first steps made in Phuket.

I was always against a coup, but it looks like that this junta is what Thailand needs.

The charm of Thailand is the chaotic street and beach life - please don't let it become yet another sterile "paradise" where over regulation pushes up prices and replaces local family businesses with multi national companies. The "illegality" of Thailand is one of its greatest attractions and cleaning it up will change the character completely

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In Goa (india) they were smart about this, small bar/restaurants on the beach constructed with bamboo and bamboo mats, no umbrella's but rather canape's made from bamboo.

Cold drinks good food, no crowd, very nice. No concrete building on the beach and if the owners have to move out, low season or crackdown there is hardly any loss.

This was about 15 years ago and maybe it changed, but that's not the point.

The point is that concrete should be avoided, wood, bamboo and other natural materials give the real laid back, relaxing feeling at the beach.

"canape's made from bamboo." Mmm, delicious.

555 You are right, I'm not native English. Sunshades not canape's.

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Beach side of walking street next?

I owned a place there from 73-78 on beach side,sold it to a Japanese resturaunteur - he spent about three million baht redecorating and had to tear it down - orders from the Thai Navy - somehow over the years they paid off someone and started building on the beach side again.......Tear it all down and it will be built back upo in ten yearscoffee1.gif Som Nam Nah

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So when will the plastic refuse and particulates be picked up. That is something that needs to be addressed, too. D*mn depressing taking a walk on the beach during monsoon season when it is encrusted with garbage.

It's the shrimpers throwing everything overboard, even Burmese, apparently.

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A lot of the restaurants at Layan blend sympathetically into the tree lines, but the law is the law. I wonder if they will have the cojones to tear down the newly built Niki beach club? It is super ugly and really does encroach on not only the beach but conservation land as well. When that goes, I'll believe it all when that goes! On another note, maybe not they will take down the fast growing pine deciduous trees planted by the bar owners for shade so that people who had bought their properties behind Layan will get there sea views back?

1. Nikki beach - crappy as it is - is on private land apparently.

2. Some of those small Layan beach bars were felling the casuarina trees at some spots so they could squeeze in more, er...small beach bars..

Nikki Barf violates set back rules, too tall, bu tit is apparently on private land, which was appropriated from Park land over a decade ago.

ALL the land is park in that area, even parts of Laguna, look at DSI map .

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A lot of the restaurants at Layan blend sympathetically into the tree lines, but the law is the law. I wonder if they will have the cojones to tear down the newly built Niki beach club? It is super ugly and really does encroach on not only the beach but conservation land as well. When that goes, I'll believe it all when that goes! On another note, maybe not they will take down the fast growing pine deciduous trees planted by the bar owners for shade so that people who had bought their properties behind Layan will get there sea views back?

1. Nikki beach - crappy as it is - is on private land apparently.

2. Some of those small Layan beach bars were felling the casuarina trees at some spots so they could squeeze in more, er...small beach bars..

Nikki Barf violates set back rules, too tall, but it is apparently on 'private' land, which was appropriated from Park land over a decade ago.

ALL the land is park in that area, even parts of Laguna, look at DSI map .

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I can only imagine what it would be like to set up an illegal business in Yellowstone or any national park or public area in the U.S. or Europe. A person would be arrested before the first nail was pounded. It is impossible for me to believe that the local Phuket authorities were not "aware" that these businesses were encroaching on public land and it is my opinion that every government official in a position of responsiblity for enforcement of encroachment issues should be fired from their job and be investigated by the graft and corruption council.

That comparison to the States is absolutely inane. Two different worlds.

If people in Phuket were able to set their businesses running on public land without being interfered with for years then many likely did it in all innocence. You want to talk graft it is more likely that graft from developers is what is in play now, getting a lot of the old stuff brushed away so they can establish their own interests. You don't imagine that space is going to stay empty?

Your clean sweep of "every government official in a position of responsibility for enforcement of encroachment issues" is some hopeful, man! Uh-huh! Should it be applied on a global level to all public officials (they all have responsibilities, ya know) there just might be an inordinate number of vacancies.

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The sheer number of illegal businesses is amazing. 78 illegal businesses on the beach! That is only the latest crop of illegal operations.

I very much hope that the authorities move quickly on to serve demolition orders on the illegal businesses on Nai Yang Beach. The building of new, permanent (concrete) buildings continues unabated....

In Goa (india) they were smart about this, small bar/restaurants on the beach constructed with bamboo and bamboo mats, no umbrella's but rather canape's made from bamboo.

Cold drinks good food, no crowd, very nice. No concrete building on the beach and if the owners have to move out, low season or crackdown there is hardly any loss.

This was about 15 years ago and maybe it changed, but that's not the point.

The point is that concrete should be avoided, wood, bamboo and other natural materials give the real laid back, relaxing feeling at the beach.

Goa is (or at least was 15 years ago) a hippy destination, Phuket is not.

Hippies have taste.

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I recalled a good write-up of development shenanigans in Phuket by Drummond and google has delivered.

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2012/07/scandal-of-thailand-nature-defying.html

If time pressed the better story starts half way 'The Ultimate Paradise Island Nightmare'.

These beach shacks are small fry, there's major property developments at waters edge which shouldn't be there. As AD writes a common ploy is to have boys at town hall update the official map to show water's edge out in the water.

So gotta ask how far will they really go with these demolitions?

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If you want to lie on sunbeds, do it at your hotel. If you want to see the beach, come see the beach, not the umbrellas display and tacky bars. As far as trash goes, a bit of police on the beat would help. I was at beach in Jomtien when mayor came down for photo op with signs "2000 baht fine for littering". Great, do you have in Thai? He did. Hate to say this, but vast majority of trashing is done by Thais. A little educaton, some law enforcement would help.

Tourists who think that part of the experience should include degradation of natural environment ought to ask themselves if they would want same to happen where they live most of the time? I know of no one along California beach communities who would be crazy enough to say "Yes the beaches are clean and lovely, but shouldn't we trash them up a bit to increase number of tourists??"

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I recalled a good write-up of development shenanigans in Phuket by Drummond and google has delivered.

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2012/07/scandal-of-thailand-nature-defying.html

If time pressed the better story starts half way 'The Ultimate Paradise Island Nightmare'.

These beach shacks are small fry, there's major property developments at waters edge which shouldn't be there. As AD writes a common ploy is to have boys at town hall update the official map to show water's edge out in the water.

So gotta ask how far will they really go with these demolitions?

That development mentioned in the story is indeed too high. From what I have heard on this particular matter from those in the know, the ruling has gone against the developer, yet thanks to some thick 100K millimetre thick envelopes per month, judgement is being held off. Hopefully the foreign expat mentioned in the story has brought this up to the new powers that be.

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I can only imagine what it would be like to set up an illegal business in Yellowstone or any national park or public area in the U.S. or Europe. A person would be arrested before the first nail was pounded. It is impossible for me to believe that the local Phuket authorities were not "aware" that these businesses were encroaching on public land and it is my opinion that every government official in a position of responsiblity for enforcement of encroachment issues should be fired from their job and be investigated by the graft and corruption council.

Financially, it makes more sense to front-load the corrupt with cash, rather than the USA model of spending 10 times that amount to imprison them for the next 20 years. People outside that arena(i.e. the rest of us) should weight their concern with their pocketbook rather than western morality. Be Here Now.

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i have just returned from Surin beach after having lunch at the new revamped Catch Club the beach looks fantastic now. even the staff say its lovely to see so many beautiful

palm trees. good work to the Army... job well done, the local authorities and Orbortor could not do the job we know why...

at the southern end they are removing anything left over and moving the sand so it slopes with the foreshore and is not a flat area so people can build structures again great idea...

just don't let them be cheeky and out chairs and tables back out as did see to the left of Catch Club some massage ladies with mattress and towels on the sand where structure gone

now they should be removed also....

According to the map here http://www.thephuketnews.com/tempo-set-to-rise-in-phuket-public-land-take-back-drive-47029.php

Catch may have been caught. Hook, line and sinker.

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