Hemsby: Preparations under way to demolish clifftop homes

Preparations are under way to start demolishing a string of homes along a cliff edge in a sea-ravaged village.

Work to knock down or move the five wooden homes in Hemsby, Norfolk, will be carried out by the council.

Rapid erosion of the sandy cliff beneath the homes, on The Marrams, meant they risked falling into the sea, Great Yarmouth Borough Council said.

"Plant machinery is being brought on to the beach," said council leader Carl Smith.

"Now the only way we can remove these properties is by taking them [machines] on to the beach, so they will start work on that over the next few days.

"Please do stay away because it's going to be dangerous - it isn't a place for sightseers.

"We are looking at people's homes here that we are going to be demolishing, so please think of them as well and the emotions they're going through.

"It's devastating for all these people along here who have lost their homes - whether it be their permanent home or holiday home."

Equipment and contractors were due to arrive at the beach from Wednesday.

Demolition work was expected to take up to four days because the tides gave only a short window each day, the council said.

Recent strong winds and high tides caused a 200-metre (650ft) stretch of private road to fall on to the beach, bringing down power lines and cutting off access to a total of 35 homes.

The council added that some vehicles and a caravan left behind when the road collapsed would be removed, which would also create an entry point via St Mary's Road.

Surveyors visited the area after the collapse and the council said it decided, with the owners' permission, to knock down homes that were no longer structurally safe.

Those told to move would be rehoused by the council if necessary, but the homeowners would not receive any compensation.

One of the homeowners has been told he must leave by Friday night.

Kevin Jordan, 70, said he was "devastated" but also "very, very angry", as he was only told on Tuesday he would need to leave by the weekend.

"Yesterday I found out where I would be going - in emergency accommodation - so I've not been able to do any planning," he said.

"I've not known what I can take with me.

"They have no need to demolish this place until next week - they could have given me plenty of time."

Margaret Parish, 72, also lives in a home about to be demolished. She has been moving her possessions out this week to a new home in nearby Ormesby.

"Everything I can take, I have taken - it feels like the house has died almost," she said.

"It takes a while for you to really accept that it really is happening.

"Once you take all your stuff out, there's just an empty shell."

Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, Sir Brandon Lewis, along with local authorities, announced in October that Hemsby did not qualify for "sufficient government funding" for a sea defence scheme.

Utilities firm Anglian Water said on Tuesday it could not yet help fund a coastal defence because the project had not been fully approved.

However, it said it would continue to work with partners to look at how it could protect the coastline and the firm's assets.

Work to start knocking down the wooden properties has coincided with the 10th anniversary of five houses collapsing into the sea.

On 5 December 2013, storms stripped away so much sand that the foundations were undermined.

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