They complained that the plan (see here) would mean they would no longer have access to the Sanam Chai football field, and this would affect local life.
The group led by Suratin Liam-Udom, a former Mayor of Rassada, and Rangsan Kongthong, a former member of the Phuket Provincial Council, went to the provincial hall with placards and banners.
There they met Vice-Governor Jamroen Thippayapongdara, who is head of the committee overseeing the project.
They told him there was no need for a new Provincial Hall, and the project might affect local people.
The football field is used for many events, they pointed out, and they feared the public might be barred from using it.
The original plan for the new provincial hall envisaged turning the Sanam Chai field into gardens, with a car park underneath it. But today V/Gov Jamroen said the protestors were misinformed.
“In fact, we will enhance and improve the field. We will grow new grass, fix the fence, repaint it, and build a large parking lot beneath,” he said.
“Local people will lose nothing. It will have no negative effect on them.
“This project has been on hold since 1996. But now we have the budget and the chance to improve the Provincial Hall – which is the centre of the administration, so we should go ahead with it.”
The project was announced last October, with a budget of B450m. The new hall will stand where the tennis courts are, at the intersection of Damrong Rd and Surin Rd.