Residents of Norfolk villages hit by coastal erosion call on next Government to offer support
Hemsby and Happisburgh have collectively lost well over 20 homes to erosion in the last decade
Those living two Norfolk villages that have been devastated by coastal erosion are calling on the next Government to change how funding for sea defences is decided.
The appeal comes from people in Hemsby and Happisburgh who remain unprotected from the North Sea.
"The end is creeping ever closer"
Simon Measures is from the group 'Save Hemsby Coastline':
"We were told that the 2018 storms were 'once in a lifetime', but we're getting these type of storms every couple of months now.
"Every time we lose a bit of land, a home-owner is naturally thinking that the end is creeping ever closer."
"We're a weak point"
Bryony Nierop Reading lives close to the cliff-edge in Happisburgh:
"Mundesley and Cromer are getting protection with new defences and Walcott is also getting support.
"We're a weak point and if our cliffs go, the sea could go through to the Broads and eventually it could even go through to Norwich."
What's been happening recently?
The villages have lost well over 20 homes in the last decade, after the North Sea has relentlessly lashed against these cliffs made of sand, silt and clay.
In Hemsby, high tides are causing large scale coastal erosion, with 30 metres of seafront being lost to the waves in the last few months alone.
In Happisburgh, Bryony gave up the garden of her beach-front home at the start of the year to ensure the village's carpark, (which generates £100,000 a year in revenue for the council), wasn't cut off.
In Trimingham, an 18th Century farmhouse was demolished, after it was left hanging over the edge of a cliff due to erosion
Read more on how coastal erosion is affecting Norfolk:
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/norfolk/news/residents-hemsby-coastal-erosion/
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/norfolk/news/happisburgh-lifeboat-decision-norfolk/
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/norfolk/news/demolition-norfolk-trimingham-farmhouse-erosion/