The last house standing on this stretch of Norfolk coast is now being demolished (Image: Terry Harris)
The last house, which stood on a cliff that was gradually decaying due to erosion, was demolished.
Houses along the clifftop in the village of Hemsby, Norfolk, were gradually cleared and demolished because of the risk of collapsing into the sea.
This weekend the last house on the street suffered the same fate.
At least 1.8 meters (6ft) of Hemsby Dune has been lost to the sea since the start of October – and there are fears winter storms will cause further erosion.
Villagers in the coastal village were forced to evacuate their homes in March after stormy weather and a flood threatened to destroy their homes.
The coastguard helped residents from their homes and watched as patio tiles slipped from their gardens into the sea.
Five houses later had to be demolished, reports the BBC.
One local resident even took the drastic step of pulling his house over the road to prevent it from falling into the sea, as he was determined to continue living in the village overlooking the North Sea.
The last house standing, pictured on Thursday (October 26), days before demolition began (Image: SWNS). The house is now almost completely gone (Image: Terry Harris)
But the problem of erosion remains, as a cliff fall earlier this week brought the last house in question dangerously close to the edge, forcing it to be demolished this weekend.
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Two weeks ago the house lost its garden shed in a flood.
Great Yarmouth Town Council said earlier this week it was “in discussions with the property owner with a view to possible demolition” and had “offered the support required at this difficult time”.
But now the time seems to have run out for the house, as a demolition team was sent out on behalf of the municipality on Saturday morning to begin the work.
Daniel Hurd, helmsman of Hemsby’s independent lifeboat, said he had spoken to the homeowner who was “heartbroken” about losing her home.
“It’s very sad for them and very sad for the crew to be here watching this happen.” “It’s not nice for anyone,” he said.
Aerial images from 1993 (bottom), 2015 (middle) and March 11, 2023 showing cliff erosion at the southern end of Hemsby Beach (Image: Mike Page/SWNS)
Recently, villagers were told that the village does not have “sufficient government resources” to implement a marine conservation program.
The original £15 million requirement for the project, which has been granted planning permission, is believed to have increased to around £20 million due to inflation.
A statement from Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth Sir Brandon Lewis and local authorities warned that Hemsby “inevitably faces the situation of losing further properties”, including a private access road leading to the beach.
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Source : metro.co.uk