British expat resolves dispute with Pattaya land officials over demolition of luxury home

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British expat resolves dispute with Pattaya land officials over demolition of luxury home

 

 

A British man who found himself at the centre of a dispute with officials in Chonburi after he discovered the land in which his luxury home was built on was subject of a compulsory purchase order has thanked Thaivisa for its coverage of the story.

 

On Monday, Mr Coghlan, a retired policeman, contacted Thaivisa to say the dispute has now been resolved.

 

“May I, take this opportunity to thank Thaivisa for its coverage and subsequent follow up, I am pleased to say that as a result of the publication and Media coverage we had several visits from representatives and Senior government officials taking note of our concerns and issues.

 

“After consultation and several subsequent meetings I am pleased to say our case was handled professionally and with fairness and we have now accepted a revised cost in line with our expectations and calculations, Mr Coghlan told Thaivisa via email.

 

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government officials from Highway 7 and the Department of Transport for their assistance in reaching a fair and decisive conclusion.

 

We would also like to thank all who shared in our worry and concern and sent us messages of sympathy and support. They have been most appreciated”, he added.

 

However, Mr Coghlan hit out at some of the comments made online, which he felt were derogatory and offensive. 

 

“I realize that Thaivisa, its readers and other social media sites have a policy of openness and encourage its members to comment and add posts to contribute to its success however I feel that some  comments related to this were derogatory and highly offensive, perhaps in the future [the people making the comments] should restrain from such assumptions and comments until they know the facts.

 

“Once again thank you Thaivisa for your publication and its successful outcome for my wife and I to now look forward to a new home and new chapter in our lives”, he wrote.

 

The plight of Mr Coghlan and his wife, Sommai made national headlines in both the Thai and English language news outlets back in August.

 

 

 

The dispute arose when Mr Coghlan and his wife built what they described as their “dream home” in Huay Yai, near Pattaya, only to later find out their property would have to be demolished after the land in which it was built on was subject of a compulsory purchase order due to the construction of an eight lane motorway.

 

“On purchasing the land and documentation through the land office, there was no suggestion of a motorway, Mr Coghlan told Thaivisa in August.

 

“On submission of the architect plans and drawings, the local authority passed all plans allowing us to commence building the home”.

 

“At no stage were we told there were plans for an 8 lane motorway. The house took approximately 18 months to build, when shortly after completion we were visited by the government officials to inform us that they had decided to move the motorway from its original plan to go through our new home”, he said.

 

After four years of submitting documents and being in discussions with officials, Mr Coghlan and his wife were told the local authorities estimated the value of their home to be 9 million THB.

 

However, Mr Coghlan felt this calculation was incorrect and called on officials to review their valuation of his home.

 

Earlier this week, Mr Coghlan informed Thaivisa the issue had now been resolved and thanked its coverage for helping to raise awareness of this issue and also praised the government officials and agencies for their professionalism in handling his case.

In line with a previous request, Thaivisa has disabled comments in this thread.

 

 

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