Hua Hin ready to clear beach after decades-long dispute

Mayor outlines demolition timeline as residents file last-ditch appeal to recognise occupancy rights

Authorities in Hua Hin are stepping up their efforts to clear all houses and buildings encroaching on a public beach to resolve a decades-long dispute, in the face of defiance from some owners.

Mayor Nopporn Wutthikul on Friday led a team of 100 city officials to the disputed area to inform owners about the structures targeted for demolition, after the municipality signed a contract with a demolition contractor on Thursday.

The beach town in Prachuap Khiri Khan is seeking to remove 26 structures found encroaching on the beach between the fishing pier and the Goddess of the Sea shrine, covering a distance of about 500 metres and containing a total of 40 structures.

Owners of 14 buildings have already demolished them voluntarily, leaving 26 properties still defying a 2014 Supreme Administrative Court ruling that found they had been erected illegally on a public beach.

Many of the structures, with long wooden piers jutting into the sea, are used for commercial purposes such as restaurants or tourist accommodation. The legal fight to clear them dates back to around 2002. 

Mr Nopporn said the municipality hoped to put an end to the long-standing dispute, although some owners were asking the Hua Hin Provincial Court to protect their rights to stay, while others have agreed to abide by the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court.

“The municipality will carry out the work based on all the facts and will strictly follow all legal proceedings with fairness,” he said in a Facebook post.

During his visit to the site, he said 15 buildings encroaching on the waterfront were to be demolished within a 120-day period beginning on Friday, though no actual demolition work was seen during the day.

The mayor said the visit was intended to gather information, plan the work with the contractor and government agencies, and explain the process to those affected.

The municipality is funding the removal of 15 buildings, with another 11 covered by the budget of the Marine Department.

Hua Hin Today quoted the mayor as saying that officials were awaiting the court’s response to residents’ application for temporary protection.

Unless an order prevents work from proceeding, he said, the municipality and other agencies would have to continue acting on the demolition orders, or they could face charges of dereliction of duty themselves.

Some local residents have argued that the community’s history stretched back about 190 years, pointing to house registrations and permanent water and electricity connections as evidence that the authorities had recognised their presence.

A court earlier declined to accept their petition to establish those rights, a representative said, but residents are appealing.