Anglian Water not looking to relocate pipeline on crumbling Hemsby seafront
The sewer pipe - which also serves Winterton and Caister - is now close to 20 metres from a sheer drop
Last updated 6th Dec 2023
A group who are trying to save a Norfolk village from further coastal erosion- say it's "inevitable" that more people's homes will be destroyed- in the next few months.
Following Anglian Water saying that they're currently not looking to protect or relocate their sewer pipe - which is now close to 20 metres from Hemsby's seafront.
"It would be an absolute disaster"
Simon Measures lives on the Marrams:
"We estimate that it handles around 37 tonnes of sewage, a second. If that were to go thanks to a lot of erosion, just imagine that pouring onto the beach. It would be an absolute disaster.
"This is pretty much the last roll of the dice for this area. I think it's inevitable that more of the coast will be lost and people's homes will have to be demolished. It's just going to keep chewing back into Hemsby."
"It's going to be a question of when we leave"
"The erosion is happening so much quicker, now. It's almost weekly and we basically live on our phones looking at high tide times and wind direction. The dune structure is so fragile- it doesn't have to be yellow weather warning. We could lose another 5 or 10 metres over-night.
"It's going to be a question of when we leave. What we are trying to do is look at our finances, see what options we have and what we can do. As most people have down here, we've put pretty much our life-savings into this place."
"Not at immediate risk"
An Anglian Water spokesperson said:
“We work very closely with Coastal Partnerships East, and we are committed to exploring how we could co-fund work to protect the coastline and our assets in the years to come.
"Although this particular pipe is not at immediate risk, we continue to keep a close eye on the cliffside erosion, and our operational teams will intervene should any of our assets be impacted."