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Suffolk coastal erosion forces demolition of Pakefield chalets

Guy Campbell/BBC Single-storey chalet buildings with boundary fence and roadGuy Campbell/BBC
Owners of the three properties were previously advised to consider demolition

The last three remaining chalets on a coastal cliff top are to be demolished.

One chalet at the site in Pakefield, near Lowestoft in Suffolk, was demolished in February 2022.

Two-thousand tonnes of rocks were placed on the beach to try to stop further erosion.

Coastal Partnership East says the remaining properties are in "danger of being structurally undermined by shoreline degradation" and will be taken down on 18 and 19 November.

The body, which represents Great Yarmouth Borough Council, North Norfolk District Council and East Suffolk Council, said it had inspected the Pakefield site ahead of Storm Babet.

Guy Campbell/BBC Single-storey chalet with demolition crews outside and metal fencingGuy Campbell/BBC
The Rosary was the first of four properties to be demolished on the cliff edge at Pakefield near Lowestoft

In a letter to residents, it said the chalets had become unsafe and would be demolished next weekend, subject to weather conditions.

The letter also said that the buildings did not provide any protection to surrounding properties, so their removal would not increase the risk to other homes.

Guy Campbell/BBC The cliffs at Pakefield, SuffolkGuy Campbell/BBC
East Suffolk Council previously said Pakefield had been subject to "unprecedented rates of coastal erosion" since 2019

Owners were warned by East Suffolk Council as long ago as 2019 that more extreme winter weather was expected and this could have had an effect on the stability of the cliff.

The council told residents it was putting emergency measures in place to "buy some time", but people living in the properties were asked to consider demolition.

Man with grey beard wearing dark-coloured hoodie standing in a garden on the cliff edge
Earlier this year, Mark Sherman, who lives on the seafront, told the BBC the sea was getting closer and more rocks were needed to protect the properties

Part of the cliff close to the nearby Pontins holiday village collapsed in August 2022.

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