Woman whose family have lived in Hemsby for four generations calls for flood defence funding

A woman whose family has lived in Hemsby for four generations is urging the government not to let the community die.

It comes after it was confirmed the village would not be eligible for money to build new flood defences - despite the seafront suffering unprecedented damage this year.

Camilla Fellas Arnold tells us that the situation is now scarier than ever, after Storm Babet battered the Norfolk coastline: "My family is really worried about what's going to happen to them.

"We've been flooded before which is scary enough, but to see all these houses falling into the sea makes everything become very real.

"We just don't know what's going to happen and it's really not nice."

Camilla remembers her family's worst flooding experience, which happened in 2006: "It was up to our knees and we lost everything.

"Fortunately, my grandparent's house is higher up, so we moved into their home.

"I ended up starting my first few weeks of college from a spare room in my grandparents' house using a laptop, because my computer and all of my equipment - everything - had been lost."

She's concerned Hemsby's not getting the support it should: "There are lots of other places along the coast which are getting rock berms and other coastal defences which I feel, like if the waters aren't there, they're coming round to Hemsby.

"Until we have something permanent the coast will just keep disappearing, before Hemsby completely disappears... I just feel frustrated."

Camilla tells us she's getting increasingly concerned for her family still living in the area:

"My family's stuck because they don't have the funds to move.

"My great-grandad bought the place because he loved it. He initially bought it as a holiday home but they loved it so they moved in.

"They didn't think about these things back then, but now they're kind of stuck and it's really hard to think what's going to happen...

"People love the idea of buying something close to the coast but the reality is now who's going to buy them?

"I hope my mum and grandad can get out before it becomes a problem, or that Hemsby can get the defences it needs, but at the moment we just don't know and that's the scariest part of it."

What's going on in Hemsby?

Prepare for the "inevitable situation of losing more properties" to coastal erosion.

That's the message released to residents of seaside village Hemsby, in a joint statement released by Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC), Coastal Partnership East, Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis, and Norfolk County Council.

Several homes in the area have already been lost to erosion this year, and recently, Hemsby's lifeboat was left unable to launch, after high tides and windy conditions led to the loss of 3-4 metres in dunes.

Residents and local leaders in Hemsby have long called for permanent sea defences

There's currently a temporary rock barrier in place at the popular holiday destination, but residents and local leaders there have long called for permanent sea defences, which were expected to cost around £15m.

Now, a recently released statement suggests the village is unlikely to get a permanent sea defence, as it "doesn’t qualify for sufficient Government funding to allow it to progress".

Instead the authorities say they're "looking at what funding and powers are available to try to avoid further emergency scenarios of people moving out of their homes literally overnight" as they prepare "for what now appears to be the inevitable situation of losing more properties, either by the loss of the access road or directly from erosion."

The statement in full

‘’For many years, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Coastal Partnership East, with the support of Sir Brandon Lewis and Norfolk County Council, have sought to secure protection for Hemsby.

‘’The proposed rock scheme at Hemsby was costed at about £15m several years ago. However, due to inflation, the cost is now likely to be significantly higher.

‘’The primary source of funding for the proposed work would be via a Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid (FDGIA) from the Government and the amount of funding available depends on the number of assets (mainly residential properties) that would benefit from a reduced risk of erosion once the scheme is completed. Currently schemes of this cost and scale would only attract FDGIA where hundreds of homes are at risk.

‘’GYBC, Norfolk County Council and Sir Brandon have proactively lobbied over a number of years to argue the case for Hemsby - including meeting the Environment Agency recently. However, currently, the proposed scheme for Hemsby doesn’t qualify for sufficient Government funding to allow it to progress.

‘’It is also the case that the proposed scheme for Hemsby would only serve to slow down erosion in the area, it would not stop it entirely. The proposed scheme, as it stands, would also most likely have a significant impact on the beach because much of the remaining beach would be covered by rock after the work was carried out.

‘’In April of this year, GYBC was extremely fortunate to have access to a stockpile of rock which it was able to buy. There is no further rock available at the moment because it is not usually stockpiled due to the significant cost for any local authority to have it ‘on standby’.’’

‘’The emergency work carried out in April was intended to mitigate the potential impact of erosion at the northern end of The Marrams and to try to protect access (to the maximum amount of properties for the amount of rock available) further south along The Marrams. Last weekend (October 14/15), there was some further dune and cliff erosion in Hemsby to the north of the rock, towards the main beach access. However, similar erosion was not seen where the rock was placed.

‘’Given this context, GYBC is looking at what funding and powers are available to try to avoid further emergency scenarios of people moving out of their homes literally overnight.

‘’We are preparing for what now appears to be the inevitable situation of losing more properties, either by the loss of the access road or directly from erosion. We are actively engaging with the residents of those properties which are likely to be affected to understand what support they will need to respond now to the risk of further erosion.

‘’GYBC is also in continued dialogue with the landowner to find out what assistance they intend to provide to people affected.’’

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