Hua Hin is an army town, and the army have been in power long enough to get this done. They have all sorts of plans to develop the coastline south of the city with a new high(ish) speed train line and airport who would bet against them?
I can tell you last night when I went out it was like a ghost town, with lots of the bars in the 3 new entertainment areas looking permanently closed, and the few foreigners i saw out and about fitting into an 'older' demographic.
Is there a case to be made that this type of thing negatively effects the locals perception of other brits in thailand, and gives ammunition to those here that would like to see fewer foreigners in the kingdom?
Air quality is so bad in Hua Hin today, PM2.5 > 100 I have to stay indoors with an air filter and the A/C on. If you are in any way sensitive to pollution find somewhere else.
Because the answer to this question is unknowable in advance the consensus is selling everything and buying new here is the way to go. Plus stuff from colder dryer countries generally doesn't last here in the tropics.