theVibes.com:
Expat couple in Penang fight to save home purchased with life savings
The couple continue to defy the state government’s orders to move out and make way for another high rise residential and commercial project in Chow Thye Road.
Updated 5 hours ago · Published on 10 Aug 2025 2:39PM
The expatriates initially had the support of neighbours but are now left to fend on their own. - August 10, 2025
by Ian McIntyre
AFTER four years of refusing to move out of their bungalow home, a German British couple are hoping they can continue staying at the home they bought with their life savings over a decade ago.
The couple continue to defy the state government’s orders to move out and make way for another high rise residential and commercial project in Chow Thye Road.
The expatriates initially had the support of neighbours but are now left to fend on their own.
They are hoping the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Appeals Board can listen to their plight on Friday and uphold their application to deny PDC the planning permission.
The area consists of old bungalows, which used to house senior civil officers serving the state.
Brit Louise Goss-Custard and her German partner Thomas Arnold Schmidt entered their dilapidated two-storey home off George Town in 2007.
The furnishings though rotting, had entranced them to make it their permanent home whenever they visit this part of the world from their base in China.
Soon after they acquired the property from the original owners.
In December 2021, the Penang Development Corporation ordered tenants of 34 units along Chow Thye Road to evacuate in a month.
However, the plan was called off after an uproar from the community with Penang Forum also helping their cause.
PDC then decided to explore other options for development, but later decided that the project commence but at a reduced scale.
The worst is not over now, as the 1920s pre-war government quarters, will see more than half its numbers bulldozed and replaced by a 42 - storey building under PDC.
According to Goss and Custard, the initial eviction plan has just been postponed due to the protests, but it was later learnt that the project is being given the go ahead.
The couple has appointed Cheong Yew Sheng from BC The & Yeoh Advocates and Solicitors to help them defend their home.
Cheong said that the hearing on Friday is crucial and hopes there is media attention to the cause of conservation as Penang is acclaimed as a Unesco World Heritage Site where the call to protect heritage is a constant cry.
Cheong said that it is similar to the public outcry when the late local tycoon Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew’s bungalow was demolished in Batu Ferringhi to make way for a new resort.
"Heritage should not just mean the Unesco area but the entire state where there is a sense of historical value and heritage properties - we should strive to conserve it or build around it like what some others have done."
The enclave, which falls under Sungai Pinang assemblyman Lim Siew Khim's constituency, is however out of both the buffer and core heritage Unesco zones.
Still, Cheong is hoping that the board can see the need to put on hold the planning permission application, pending the disposal of the couple's civil case in the High Court where they are looking to challenge the proposed development.
"We need a halt to all work so no construction is done until all legal avenues have been exhausted."
Cheong is also looking for traffic consultants and heritage experts to advice the couple on claims that the project will bring further congestion into the neighbourhood while also wiping out the historical architecture value of the enclave.
Located behind the Gleneagles Hospital in Penang, the neighbourhood is now home to a mixture of commercial ventures but mostly cafes and restaurants. - August 10, 2025.
by Ian McIntyre
AFTER four years of refusing to move out of their bungalow home, a German British couple are hoping they can continue staying at the home they bought with their life savings over a decade ago.
The couple continue to defy the state government’s orders to move out and make way for another high rise residential and commercial project in Chow Thye Road.
The expatriates initially had the support of neighbours but are now left to fend on their own.
They are hoping the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Appeals Board can listen to their plight on Friday and uphold their application to deny PDC the planning permission.
The area consists of old bungalows, which used to house senior civil officers serving the state.
Brit Louise Goss-Custard and her German partner Thomas Arnold Schmidt entered their dilapidated two-storey home off George Town in 2007.
The furnishings though rotting, had entranced them to make it their permanent home whenever they visit this part of the world from their base in China.
Soon after they acquired the property from the original owners.
In December 2021, the Penang Development Corporation ordered tenants of 34 units along Chow Thye Road to evacuate in a month.
However, the plan was called off after an uproar from the community with Penang Forum also helping their cause.
PDC then decided to explore other options for development, but later decided that the project commence but at a reduced scale.
The worst is not over now, as the 1920s pre-war government quarters, will see more than half its numbers bulldozed and replaced by a 42 - storey building under PDC.
According to Goss and Custard, the initial eviction plan has just been postponed due to the protests, but it was later learnt that the project is being given the go ahead.
The couple has appointed Cheong Yew Sheng from BC The & Yeoh Advocates and Solicitors to help them defend their home.
Cheong said that the hearing on Friday is crucial and hopes there is media attention to the cause of conservation as Penang is acclaimed as a Unesco World Heritage Site where the call to protect heritage is a constant cry.
Cheong said that it is similar to the public outcry when the late local tycoon Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew’s bungalow was demolished in Batu Ferringhi to make way for a new resort.
"Heritage should not just mean the Unesco area but the entire state where there is a sense of historical value and heritage properties - we should strive to conserve it or build around it like what some others have done."
The enclave, which falls under Sungai Pinang assemblyman Lim Siew Khim's constituency, is however out of both the buffer and core heritage Unesco zones.
Still, Cheong is hoping that the board can see the need to put on hold the planning permission application, pending the disposal of the couple's civil case in the High Court where they are looking to challenge the proposed development.
"We need a halt to all work so no construction is done until all legal avenues have been exhausted."
Cheong is also looking for traffic consultants and heritage experts to advice the couple on claims that the project will bring further congestion into the neighbourhood while also wiping out the historical architecture value of the enclave.
Located behind the Gleneagles Hospital in Penang, the neighbourhood is now home to a mixture of commercial ventures but mostly cafes and restaurants. - August 10, 2025.
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