Winds Of Change

[steelepulse]

Bye bye Southwest, hello Northeast. Monsoons just switched over. Time for the beaches on the west coast to build up sand and return to being much safer and calmer.

[logbags]

Meanwhile down at Surin beach Pla Seafood has successfully built a large retaining wall out of wood effectively fencing off a large area of sand it obviously considers its own property now. It's about time the authorities pulled out the finger and policed these beach poachers. Many people just don't go to the beach anymore as every inch of the beach is ruled over by someone who thinks it is their own private property. Pla Seafood has effectivley tripled its restaurant area by putting up a temporary roof over this area. If everybody starts doing this there will be no beach left for locals to use.

At Surin beach there is only one small area in the middle where the public has access to the beach. Places like the Catch Beach club hold weddings on the beach and order people away if they come too close. The beach is public land!!!! The Government needs to come out and state clearly if the beaches are public land or have all rights been given to the resort owners who built there???

[seaeagle]

At Surin beach there is only one small area in the middle where the public has access to the beach. Places like the Catch Beach club hold weddings on the beach and order people away if they come too close. The beach is public land!!!! The Government needs to come out and state clearly if the beaches are public land or have all rights been given to the resort owners who built there???

Thank you - that's my weekend wander sorted out! I'll be there, and will just simply ignore the feckers if they try to stop me walking on the beach.

It's the only way, my TV friends. Get out and enjoy the beach in numbers - they can't stop it then.

[ScubaBuddha]

Not sure SP, WindGuru still shows some significant rain in the next few days, and a westerly wind.

Love the Scorpions btw.

[SeanPhuket]

I'll look forward to not reading stories of multiple drownings every week then..

Or maybe not

Couldn't agree more logbags!

[logbags]

Phuket Gazette actually highlighted this issue of "private beaches" this week.

A lot of the occupied land on the edge of the beach is Crown land as well and people cannot sell the actual land, they can claim it by virtue of occupation for a long time and work on it making a living.

Some of these people have "sold" this right to the land to resorts who open beach side bars/restaurants and bus in people from their resort. (Probably tell them it's their own private beach area for all I know) You can see clearly defined territories at Surin Beach in particular. When I first visited Surin there wasn't anything there except for a few locals selling drinks and food under thatched roof shacks.

Later when too many of them opened the Or Bor Tor ordered them to be pulled down and built places on the other side of the road and gave the people already there first dibs on the places they built. They weren't supposed to build on the beach edge and I dunno what happened but gradually everyone just set up on the other side with chairs and tables rather than structures containing kitchens etc.

Now we have an attempt at claiming "ownership" of the actual sand in front of the bar/restaurant. From what I know nobody actually owns anything there, they pay the Or Bor Tor for the use of the land. Maybe the laws been changed but the piece posted below states very clearly that nobody can claim a beach or area of the beach. They really need to sort out the "loophole" mentioned below.

My interpretation of this would be "Most of the resorts are owned by wealthy and influential people therefore the law doesn't apply to them"

From the Gazette

Are all Phuket beaches public access?

A few resorts around Phuket have set themselves up in such a way that they block public access to the beach. In my case, it is the Andaman White Beach Resort, south of Nai Thon Beach.

The old public path has been blocked off with “planned” vegetation.

Even when you do find a way onto the beach, the resort staff tell or force you to leave because you are not allowed to be there.

Do these resorts own the beaches in front of them?

Can they block and stop the public from legally enjoying them? What are the resorts’ obligations?

C Park, Nai Yang Thursday, October 28, 2010

“We understand that the beach is a public place, but people must also appreciate that the hotel is private property. To maintain privacy for our guests, only people staying at the hotel are allowed to pass through the hotel to go to the beach.

If people want to go to the beach, of course they can – by dinghy or boat or by climbing down the hill at the side of the resort – and we will not stop them. But our security guards will preserve the privacy of the resort for our guests.”

Thursday, October 28, 2010 Luciano Lazzarin, General Manager at the Andaman White Beach Resort

“There are no legal requirements that a private property owner must provide beach access to the public. This issue is beyond our authority.”

Thursday, October 28, 2010 Surapong Panyawai, Mayor of Sakoo Tambon Administration Organization

“The term “private beach” is one of the most powerful wordings in terms of tempting a prospective guest to stay in a resort, but resorts should be well aware that there is no such thing from a legal perspective.

Generally speaking, land use in Thailand is divided into two categories. The first is land for private use, whereby a landowner has the right to use the land and prevent it from being encroached on by any intruder. This right is prescribed in Section 1336 of Thai Civil and Commercial Code.

The second category is land for public use. As the name suggests, it is exclusively reserved for common use of the public.

The beach is considered public domain. Consequently, no resort staff are entitled to bodily force or behave in any manner with the aim of intimidating any beach-goer to stop using the beach. It is a criminal offense.

However, accessing the beach is another question entirely. Although the only convenient way to access the beach is to pass through the resort. To be frank, the resort is not under any legal obligations to open the access way to public use.

This is a legal loophole. There is no statute or judgment precedent that deals directly with this crucial issue.

Our suggestion is to raise this issue and discuss it with the local competent officer, such as the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, as they have the general power to administrate the use of public places.”

Thursday, October 28, 2010 Mongkol Ruengwutchanapuech, a Master of Laws (Australia) and Barrister at Law (Thailand) at the International Law Office (ILO) – Phuket