Conservation vows put BMA candour to test

Conservation vows put BMA candour to test

A few months ago, when conservationists launched a campaign asking the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to revise its new town planning laws to protect valuable buildings in old-town quarters, the battle was already as good as lost.

The town plan in question, which is set to take effect in the coming weeks, would allow high-rise buildings to be developed in areas surrounding MRT train stations. Several of these stations lie in the heart of old-town areas in Pomprap Sattruphai, Phra Nakhon and Samphanthawong districts.

Without legal protection, it's feared that many of the old structures _ mostly low-rise shophouses in bygone architectural styles _ will be demolished and eventually replaced by hotels and department stores as land potential changes and values soar.

If that happens, hundreds of locals _ mostly traders of traditional Chinese goods, like the old communities in Soi Charoen Chai _ will have to be booted out from the land they have lived on and earned a living from for generations. Likely to disappear are also the traditional lifestyles which provide the main source of charm for these old communities.

The conservationists have been particularly upset that the BMA flatly turned down their request for the plan to be revised. The only explanation offered was that any revision would delay the process further.

But as the conservationists began to brace with despair for the new plan to take effect, the BMA made a surprise and unprecedented move.

Only a few weeks before last Sunday's governor election took place, City Clerk Ninnat Chalitanont invited members of the conservationist network to a meeting. At this meeting, a working group on the conservation of old-town communities and adjacent areas was set up.

Included in the working group, aside from city planners from the Town Planning Department, are leading conservationists including Chatvichai Promadhattavedi and Sudara Suchachaya, as well as representatives from the old-town communities that would be affected by development, and major landlords like the Crown Property Bureau.

The first of its kind, the group includes all major stakeholders. The first meeting on Feb 28, just two days before Sunday's poll in which former governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra beat his Pheu Thai Party rival, was said to be positive.

All the group members, despite their divergent interests, appeared to find common ground _ that old-town areas should be preserved.

It's the first time ever that City Hall has created such a mechanism as part of its administration.

Deserving credit here is Kraisak Choonhavan, former chief adviser to the city governor.

Yet it's still too soon to be overly optimistic and call for celebrations.

After all, the working group's main task is to give development guidelines and propose protective measures for projects in old-town areas. It does not have veto powers for unbecoming projects, so to speak.

Besides, we should also take into consideration the timing of the working group's establishment. That's why I repeatedly mention last Sunday's election. Is it all just a pre-election trick?

You don't need to be a political scientist to know that any politician struggling in a tight election will promise just about anything.

Look at the way MR Sukhumbhand responded enthusiastically to the demands of Bangkok cyclists in his final months as governor and also during the fierce election campaign.

Again, it's still too early to know if any of these promises were sincere. All we can do now is wait and see.

As the governor election dust settles, it's time that the governor-elect and the bureaucrats prove they can keep their word and keep this new mechanism in operation.

It's still a long time before we'll know if the new working group is for real. But it's a good start nonetheless.


Ploenpote Atthakor is Deputy Oped Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.

Ploenpote Atthakor

Former editorial page Editor

Ploenpote Atthakor is former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.

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