Court revokes construction permit for Ashton Asoke luxury condominium

[webfact]

 

The Supreme Administrative Court ordered the revocation of the construction permit on Thursday of the 6.4 billion baht Ashton Asoke luxury condominium project in the heart of Bangkok.

 

The court ruled that the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s permission allowing its expropriated land to be used as an exit and entrance to Asoke Road by the condominium project, located on Sukhumvit Soi 21, is illegal, because the land was expropriated from private individuals for the construction of the Blue Line and can only be used for public benefit.

 

The court’s final ruling is retroactively applied to the date when the construction permit was issued, in February 2015,by the Wattana district office.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/court-revokes-construction-permit-for-ashton-asoke-luxury-condominium/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-07-28

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

[blackcab]

I feel very sorry for the 580 people/families who purchased a unit in this project.

[JoePai]

Oops

[worgeordie]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

only be used for public benefit.

So people coming and going to the condo are not the public , then what are they,

Why do they always find these things out when building is finished, the forest is

chopped down, etc etc.

 

regards Worgeordie

[chickenslegs]

The land was "expropriated" from its original owners. I assume that means a compulsory purchase for the purpose of expansion of the MRT = a public benefit.

How did the land then come into the possession of the luxury condo developers?

[snoop1130]

Foundation for Consumers offers help to buyers of Ashton Asoke condos

 

 

Thailand’s Foundation for Consumers is offering free legal counselling to buyers of condominium units at the Ashton Asoke luxury condominium in Bangkok, if they want to cancel the purchase contracts, and to seek a refund from the developer, Ananda Development.

 

On Thursday, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the construction permit for the condominium project to be revoked, after it ruled that it is illegal for the Mass Rapid Transit Authority to allow land that was expropriated from private landowners for the Blue Line train project to be used by the condominium for access to and from Asoke Road.

 

Narumon Mekborisut, deputy director of the foundation, said that buyers of the condos have been affected by the Supreme Administrative Court ruling.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/foundation-for-consumers-offers-help-to-buyers-of-ashton-asoke-condos/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-07-28

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

[TravelerEastWest]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So people coming and going to the condo are not the public , then what are they,

Why do they always find these things out when building is finished, the forest is

chopped down, etc etc.

 

regards Worgeordie

"The case was raised with the Central Administrative Court back in 2016 by serial petition Srisuwan Janya,..." 

 

Apparently known for many years.

 

Buyers should have done their due dligence...

[Elkski]

Corruption.  So no other entrance?  Will the building just fall down?  Seems like should be several people losing everything and jail terms of 20 years+ 

[neeray]

" ..... land that was expropriated from private landowners for the Blue Line train project to be used by the condominium for access to and from Asoke Road." (from the article)

Why not offer further compensation to the persons whom the land was originally expropriated from? It could be a win/win.

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So people coming and going to the condo are not the public , then what are they,

Why do they always find these things out when building is finished, the forest is

chopped down, etc etc.

 

regards Worgeordie

TiT  it works in reverse.

[Mickmouse1]

16 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So people coming and going to the condo are not the public , then what are they,

Why do they always find these things out when building is finished, the forest is

chopped down, etc etc.

 

regards Worgeordie

GEORDIE, the land was acquired for a specific project but somehow part of it was used to construct the Luxury condo. Private company misusing the land for private gain.Obviously big money has changed hands to gain approval etc. GOOD ORDER BY THE COURT.

Good moaning Thailand, regards

[leither69]

15 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

The land was "expropriated" from its original owners. I assume that means a compulsory purchase for the purpose of expansion of the MRT = a public benefit.

How did the land then come into the possession of the luxury condo developers?

Eh!! Not that difficult to figure out ????

[Bangkok Barry]

15 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

The land was "expropriated" from its original owners. I assume that means a compulsory purchase for the purpose of expansion of the MRT = a public benefit.

How did the land then come into the possession of the luxury condo developers?

From the linked article:

He also accused the district chief officer of Wattana district and other district officials of illegally issuing the construction permit to the developer.

Are we surprised? Of course not. Just business as usual in this cesspit of corruption.

And another case this very day. Happens all the time.
The chief of Khao Kho National Park in Thailand’s Phetchabun province has been transferred and placed under investigation for allowing illegal resorts to be built at Pha Hua Sing (Lion’s Head) cliff, which is a part of the national park.
Just part of the culture.

[newnative]

    Incorrect decision, in my opinion, by the court.  Then compounded by the totally inappropriate penalty of tearing the building down, with no regard whatsoever to the affected parties, especially the 500-some families who would lose their homes.    The Thai legal system at its absolute worst.

[vinci]

they knew ahead of time this would happen and they rush to sell out all the unit as fast as possible.

[Metapod]

so what happens to the condo now?

[BangkokReady]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:19 PM, worgeordie said:

So people coming and going to the condo are not the public , then what are they,

Residents of the condominium building.

[BangkokReady]

On 7/28/2023 at 5:19 PM, chickenslegs said:

How did the land then come into the possession of the luxury condo developers?

Not in their possession, but permission to use.  Probably paid for it.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 7/29/2023 at 10:05 AM, newnative said:

Then compounded by the totally inappropriate penalty of tearing the building down,

Who said anything about "tearing down" this condo project?  That's not mentioned in either of the news reports above.

 

Somehow, I think it highly unlikely that the legal fight here is going to result in the demolition of an already completed and occupied 6 BILLION baht high-rise condo project in the heart of BKK built by one of Thailand's largest and most prominent developers.

 

There's been a similar long-running case on Soi Ruamrudee where local residents sued over a large condo-hotel project that allegedly was built far over-height on a relatively narrow street, supposedly in violation of BMA construction rules.

 

The case went on in the courts for years, before finally a final ruling that the upper floors of the project had to be removed. That was about seven years ago. And AFAIK, absolutely nothing in the way of demolition has occurred with the project.

 

From 2016:

 

"THE Central Administrative Court issued an execution order Friday for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pathumwan District Office to demolish illegal parts of the 24-storey luxury Aetas Bangkok hotel on Soi Ruamrudee."

 

"The court Friday instructed the BMA governor and Pathumwan director to exercise their power under Article 42-a43 of the Buildings Control Act BE 2522 (1979) to order a building owner or occupant to demolish the building fully or partially within a given timeframe (at least 30 days) and via legal means. The law stated that a failure to demolish the building as ordered could result in arrest and officials’ tearing down the place at the owner’s expense."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30296590

 

The last I can find after that was a  2019 BKK Post article saying the BMA was preparing to award demolition contract to totally remove (not just the upper floors as ordered by the court) the two high-rises involved in that dispute - Aetas Bangkok and Aetas Residence. But after that, I can't find any report of anything actually happening.

 

Google Maps has user reviews for the Aetas Residence project up until one or two years ago, and then a recent report saying the hotel had been closed...but still there. The Aetas company website still shows both projects, but lists them as "temporarily closed."

 

So apparently, 15 years after the original lawsuit was filed, no demolition. That's the way it goes here...

 

 

As would be the case with the Asoke project, I'm guessing the BMA folks involved will try to do everything possible, including dragging their feet to the utmost, to avoid any demolition. Because if they were to actually demolish either project, at that point, they'd be looking at huge potential legal liabilities from both developers for their "lost" projects/investments. Since in both cases, the BMA officials involved formally permitted and allowed both projects prior to their construction.

 

 

 

[scorecard]

On 7/28/2023 at 6:22 PM, TravelerEastWest said:

"The case was raised with the Central Administrative Court back in 2016 by serial petition Srisuwan Janya,..." 

 

Apparently known for many years.

 

Buyers should have done their due dligence...

If a property was compulsory acquired by the government, would you believe it could then be developed by a commercial developer and then sold to the public?

 

I certainly wouldn't - doesn't compute.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Who said anything about "tearing down" this condo project?  That's not mentioned in either of the news reports above.

 

Somehow, I think it highly unlikely that the legal fight here is going to result in the demolition of an already completed and occupied 6 BILLION baht high-rise condo project in the heart of BKK built by one of Thailand's largest and most prominent developers.

 

There's been a similar long-running case on Soi Ruamrudee where local residents sued over a large condo-hotel project that allegedly was built far over-height on a relatively narrow street, supposedly in violation of BMA construction rules.

 

The case went on in the courts for years, before finally a final ruling that the upper floors of the project had to be removed. That was about seven years ago. And AFAIK, absolutely nothing in the way of demolition has occurred with the project.

 

From 2016:

 

"THE Central Administrative Court issued an execution order Friday for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pathumwan District Office to demolish illegal parts of the 24-storey luxury Aetas Bangkok hotel on Soi Ruamrudee."

 

"The court Friday instructed the BMA governor and Pathumwan director to exercise their power under Article 42-a43 of the Buildings Control Act BE 2522 (1979) to order a building owner or occupant to demolish the building fully or partially within a given timeframe (at least 30 days) and via legal means. The law stated that a failure to demolish the building as ordered could result in arrest and officials’ tearing down the place at the owner’s expense."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30296590

 

The last I can find after that was a  2019 BKK Post article saying the BMA was preparing to award demolition contract to totally remove (not just the upper floors as ordered by the court) the two high-rises involved in that dispute - Aetas Bangkok and Aetas Residence. But after that, I can't find any report of anything actually happening.

 

Google Maps has user reviews for the Aetas Residence project up until one or two years ago, and then a recent report saying the hotel had been closed...but still there. The Aetas company website still shows both projects, but lists them as "temporarily closed."

 

So apparently, 15 years after the original lawsuit was filed, no demolition. That's the way it goes here...

 

 

As would be the case with the Asoke project, I'm guessing the BMA folks involved will try to do everything possible, including dragging their feet to the utmost, to avoid any demolition. Because if they were to actually demolish either project, at that point, they'd be looking at huge potential legal liabilities from both developers for their "lost" projects/investments. Since in both cases, the BMA officials involved formally permitted and allowed both projects prior to their construction.

 

 

 

Several news reports that I read did mention demolishing the building.  Below is the headline from the July 30 issue of The Nation:

The Supreme Court has ruled on the Ananda Development’ s Ashton Asoke-Rama 9 project, declaring it illegal and ordering the construction to be halted and the project to be dismantled.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, newnative said:

Several news reports that I read did mention demolishing the building.  Below is the headline from the July 30 issue of The Nation:

The Supreme Court has ruled on the Ananda Development’ s Ashton Asoke-Rama 9 project, declaring it illegal and ordering the construction to be halted and the project to be dismantled.

And further from the same article that you decided not to quote:

 

'The developer and the state agencies involved will be held responsible for the damages caused, and have been given a 14-day deadline to provide remedies without having to demolish the building."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40029765

 

In all likelihood, that building isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

 

 

[ChipButty]

According to her indoors the law is there has to be more than one entrance/exit to the any project, the office cat would have known that, 

Almost all the major developers in Bangkok pull one stunt or another they employ people fix it should it be needed,  

A golfing trip to America and a day out at Poseidon should fix it 

[Mike Teavee]

34 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

According to her indoors the law is there has to be more than one entrance/exit to the any project, the office cat would have known that, 

Almost all the major developers in Bangkok pull one stunt or another they employ people fix it should it be needed,  

A golfing trip to America and a day out at Poseidon should fix it 

I thought I read some time back that it was something to do with the size of the access road (e.g. if you had a small condo with 20 units you can get away with a much smaller access road than one with 580 units) & they have had to use part of the BTS land to meet the requirements. 

 

If was the case then I'm guessing the "Remediation" could be to reduce the number of units to a number that allows them to have an access road without using the BTS land. 

 

 

[ChipButty]

33 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

I thought I read some time back that it was something to do with the size of the access road (e.g. if you had a small condo with 20 units you can get away with a much smaller access road than one with 580 units) & they have had to use part of the BTS land to meet the requirements. 

 

If was the case then I'm guessing the "Remediation" could be to reduce the number of units to a number that allows them to have an access road without using the BTS land. 

 

 

it seems like they are trying to buy some property around there to make another entrance