Residents of Hemsby warn the future of the seaside village hangs in the balance, due to rapid coastal erosion
High tides are causing large scale coastal erosion there - with 30 metres of seafront being lost to the waves in the last few months
Last updated 5th Feb 2024
Residents of Hemsby are warning that the future of this Norfolk seaside village hangs in the balance, due to rapid coastal erosion.
High tides are causing large scale coastal erosion there - with 30 metres of seafront being lost to the waves in the last few months alone.
It's as estimates by the Environment Agency and local authorities show that between 55 and 150 homes could be lost there, between now and 2100.
Meanwhile, environmental researchers 'One Home' are warning 100 metres of land in the seaside village will be lost before the end of the century, unless urgent action is taken.
Five homes have also been pulled down after being deemed unsafe by surveyors.
LISTEN: We spend time with local residents, businesses and volunteers to hear how coastal erosion is impacting their lives:
"Is this the end now?!"
Kevin Jordan lived on the 'The Marrams' road next to the sea for 14 years, but was moved out for his own safety in December:
"The electricity and the water goes off and you start thinking, is this the end now?! I'm sitting here looking at parts of my road right by my window that have totally gone and the rest is hanging and ready to fall.
"I've got nowhere else to go. My property has long been rendered as unsaleable and I don't have sufficient savings and there's no equity in this place. I'm retired and on a pension. I just can't go anywhere else."
"It's totally different now"
Marie Howlett has lived on the 'The Marrams' for three years:
"We had a nice road, where you could see the beach. The dunes are gone and people are moving, it's totally different now and I think Hemsby will be gone soon.
"My partner is very upset. I have never known a man to cry so much as he has. He thought we'd stay here forever but all this change has happened so quickly- it's crazy."
"The last ten years have been really dramatic"
Lorna Bevan is owner of the 'Lacon Arms' - close to 'The Gap:
"70% of Hemsby's homes are tourism funded. It's a huge amount and we don't want to become a place that's dependent on Government handouts. We want that support now so we can protect what we already have.
"Will Hemsby's beach be sufficient to have tourism here or for people to enjoy it in the summer? Or will it be just I small stretch of rock because that's all we've got left. Hemsby is an £88 million annual industry, we are the biggest of it's kind in this area to contribute back as a small village.
"The last ten years have been really dramatic. So many people's homes and memories lost. All you have to do is talk to those coming through the pub doors, here. They've been coming here for donkey's years.
"Coastal erosion here is going to affect everyone, not just people here but those all over the country. We plough so much money into Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and Suffolk. Without a beach, that economy will diminish greatly."
"Emergency powers should be brought in"
Dan Hurd is from Hemsby lifeboat. Whose station is now perilously close to the edge.
"We're at a point where one big tide through, here and we're then going to be comprising the assets in the building. We're now looking to get stuff into boxes and move it all into temporary accommodation, of some kind. We're hopeful it will survive the remainder of this winter season.
"I personally think that emergency powers should be brought in so that we can get some rock granite down to protect what's left of the beach. Without that I don't think the beach will survive until the summer- and that will really hurt local businesses."
What's being done to support Hemsby?
Six campaigners from Hemsby delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street on Monday, which calls for sea defences to be urgently installed there and for the distribution of sea defence funding to be changed.
Hemsby has previously been told by the Government that the proposed sea defence scheme for the village "doesn’t qualify for sufficient Government funding to allow it to progress."
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said:
‘’Following further erosion of the dunes at Hemsby, council officers are at the area to monitor and assess the situation. As always, appropriate advice and assistance will be provided to those in the community who need help.’’
A spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said:
"We know the devastating impact flooding and coastal erosion can have, including in Norfolk, which is why we have a long-term vision to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion.
"This includes doubling our investment in flood and coastal erosion schemes in England to £5.2bn between 2021 and 2027.
"We are also investing £36m in the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme in a number of small of coastal areas at significant risk of coastal erosion, including in Norfolk, to look at how we transition and adapt to a changing climate."
