Court orders 5-star hotel pulled down

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City authorities will move to demolish the Aetas Bangkok Hotel in Soi Ruam Rudi if the hotel operator ignores an order from the Administrative Court that the building is illegal.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Thirachon Manomaipibul yesterday said he had instructed the director of the Pathumwan district office to order the owners of the hotel to pull it down as soon as the office receives an order from the Administrative Court.

The court on Thursday ordered the Bangkok governor and the director of the Pathumwan district office to enforce compliance with the law within 60 days.

On Sept 17, 2008, residents in Soi Ruam Rudi on Phloenchit Road filed a complaint with the court against the Bangkok governor and the director of Pathumwan district office. Apirak Kosayodhin was the Bangkok governor at the time.

The complainants accused Mr Apirak and the head of the district office at the time of issuing a certificate which the residents said exaggerated the width of the road in the soi to build a large building in violation of the law.

The law prohibits construction of tall buildings on roads measuring less than 10 metres wide. The court ruled Soi Ruam Rudi is less than 10 metres wide.

Mr Thirachon said if the hotel's owners fail to pull down the building, the district office will arrange demolition and bill the owners.

He said an appeal against the order can be lodged within 30 days.

He said the hotel's owners applied for construction approval under a section of the 1979 Building Control Act which regulates building modifications and allows for construction without having to obtain permission from local authorities.

The construction blueprints were signed by an authorised engineer and an architect.

Mr Thirachon said the owners and not the district office were to blame.

However, a committee will investigate whether any BMA officials were involved in the violation.

Pathumwan district chief Pawinee Amartathat said construction began when Surakiat Limcharoen was district chief. Mr Surakiat is now deputy director of the Fire and Rescue Department.

A BMA source said the case is likely to be drawn out for several years as the hotel's owners will almost certainly lodge an appeal.

Surachet Worawongwasu, the director of owner Larp Prathan Co, said yesterday an appeal was definite.

He said a document from Pathumwan district office confirmed the soi was 10 metres wide.

But encroachments in the soi might have changed its width.

Soi Ruam Rudi is considered to be among the top five most expensive areas in the country, on a par with Phloenchit Road, Silom and Thong Lor.

A land plot in the soi is priced at between 450,000 and 600,000 baht per square wah.

During the past decade, property developers have been trying to buy areas in the soi for projects to build luxury hotels and condominiums. There are a number of other five-star hotels and condominiums of more than 20 storeys in the soi.

A council source said many developers had contacted the Pathumwan district office about the road's width.

They were told it was less than 10 metres wide, so they joined with residents to file a complaint against the Aetas Bangkok Hotel.

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Edited February 11, 2012 by FarangFarang