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Clifftop home demolished as councillor warns of impact on local economy

Several wooden properties, built on sand dunes at Hemsby in Norfolk, are perilously close to toppling into the sea due to coastal erosion.

Ellie Ng
Saturday 11 March 2023 15:03 GMT
A clifftop house set to be demolished (Joe Giddens/PA)
A clifftop house set to be demolished (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

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A councillor has warned that continued erosion of a Norfolk coastline could cause a ā€œdramaticā€ decline in the local economy, as a clifftop home is demolished.

Several wooden properties, built on sand dunes at Hemsby, are perilously close to toppling into the sea due to coastal erosion.

The demolished house belonged to Sue, who did not wish to give her surname, and it was destroyed because it was too close to the cliff edge.

Residents watched on as their neighbourā€™s house was destroyed.

Anglian Demolition are set to demolish four homes on Saturday.

Noel Galer, Great Yarmouth Borough councillor for East Flegg ward, containing Hemsby, said the village plays an important role in the local tourism industry.

He told the PA news agency: ā€œItā€™s the place where everybodyā€™s children tend to go to get a holiday job when they are 16 in the summer holidays and when theyā€™re at university when they come back.ā€

The councillor said there are ā€œloadsā€ of ā€œlittle companiesā€ there.

He continued: ā€œYou can just imagine with virtually no other industry or commerce in Hemsby, I feel that about 90% of Hemsbyā€™s economy is dependent on their tourism and if you were to lose the next bit of Hemsbyā€¦ Itā€™s going to be very difficult to see how that holiday industry is going to continue to operate if you start chiselling little bits away from it.

ā€œI think that the decline when you start to lose parts of it would be quite dramatic. I have a feeling that Hemsby would lose its prominence quite quickly.ā€

He added that there are ā€œprecious little other employment opportunitiesā€ in the area.

Referencing tourism data collected by the council, Mr Galer insisted Hemsby has ā€œtremendous valueā€ in the region.

We could have a really bad year now as a result of bad news and people making assumptions over a few days when this sort of terrible thing is happening and lose a lot of business

Noel Galer, councillor

ā€œItā€™s so important,ā€ he said. ā€œItā€™s difficult to stress how it would be if Hemsby lost 50 metres in a huge storm or a succession of storms over a week or so. It would be horrendous.ā€

ā€œCan you imagine that with a large number, a majority, of the bookings for Hemsby holidays coming from home grown areas in the UK, the incredible effect that might have on people thinking: ā€˜Oh crumbs, we were thinking of going to Hemsby, we better cancel our holiday ā€“ looks like itā€™s going to be closed foreverā€™?ā€

Mr Galer added: ā€œWe could have a really bad year now as a result of bad news and people making assumptions over a few days when this sort of terrible thing is happening and lose a lot of business.ā€

On evacuated residents, the councillor said people will be ā€œtrying very hardā€ to ensure they are looked after.

ā€œSome people literally have a second home which happens to be very close to the beach,ā€ he went on. ā€œPerhaps they knew the risks and understood the risks, accepted the risks.

ā€œOthers for various reasons may have found this is the only place they can find to live because of the cost and their circumstances and may not be so aware of whatā€™s going on.

ā€œThey may have felt thereā€™s no way this is ever going to be washed away.ā€

He told PA that there used to be two further rows of dunes and that there is a footpath on the local map which goes out to sea.

ā€œYou look at the map and think: why on earth is there a footpath going out into the ocean? Well, of course, thatā€™s simply because of whatā€™s disappeared over the last 50 years.ā€

He added: ā€œUnless we have some kind of sea defence protection that presumably will continue, especially with the increased energy and the climate weather system thatā€™s hitting our shores.ā€

Staff from the local authority have been on site alongside crews from Hemsby Independent Lifeboat Crew and Norfolk Police.

Hemsby Parish Council is also supporting residents who have had to leave their homes.

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