The court cited the 1979 Building Control Act. This states that on roads of less than 10 meters in width the maximum height of buildings is 23 meters. This equates to around seven storeys. The original justices ruled that local residents were justified in their complaint that the access road was narrower than 10 metres in certain places.
The hearing heard the plaintiffs claim the BMA had turned a blind eye to the road width requirements and allowed the building project to proceed. Lawyers for the residents argued that such a large structure in a restricted access location was harmful to the environment and posed a risk in the case of fires, accidents or other emergencies.
The 25-storey hotel is adjacent to the Aetas Apartment Complex and the demolition order applies to both buildings. Soi Ruamrudee is in the Pathumwan District of Bangkok and the director of the local authority, Sitthichai Thuamsakon, was in court for the judge’s decision.
He said afterwards that Aetas’s management did not need to pull the buildings down completely as they could be altered to suit building regulations. The director said it was uncertain when the demolition might take place and offered the opinion that Aetas could take legal action against the BMA and try to get the order overturned.
Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel
News in Asia
A court in Thailand has ordered the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to supervise the demolition of a luxury hotel. The Aetas Hotel is located just off Bangkok’s hip Soi Ruamrudee and three years ago the same court ruled that the BMA should not have given the go-ahead for the construction of the 25-storey structure.