UK - Last home standing on crumbling Norfolk seaside cliff face is bulldozed

The last remaining bungalow of a crumbling cliffside community was demolished yesterday after the council admitted they had lost their battle with coastal erosion.The last remaining bungalow of a crumbling cliffside community was demolished yesterday after the council admitted they had lost their battle with coastal erosion

Hemsby, around 15 miles east of Norwich and seven miles north of Great Yarmouth has seen six properties demolished this year due to the coastline's rapid retreat.

Yesterday, the final property on the vulnerable encampment was torn down by Great Yarmouth Borough Council with 1.8m of the cliff eroded since the start of October and its position untenable.

The female owner was said to be 'heartbroken' by the decision to bulldoze her home, but the council stressed that it had 'offered all the appropriate support.'

Pictures taken yesterday show the large bulldozers moving in to clear the house from the dune to the anger of locals who have said they feel abandoned by the council and the government.

Earlier this year, the Government said a planned sea defence project for Hemsby does not qualify for funding to be put into action.

Ian Brennan, chairman of the Save Hemsby Coastline campaign, says that the village is being abandoned to its fate after the decision was made not to fund the scheme.

READ MORE: I've only got ten years before my cliff-edge home falls into the sea... but I don't mind! I'm not going to live forever

Local authorities say inflation has pushed the cost of the project from a reported £15million to £20million, ultimately leading to the offer of financial support being withdrawn. They now warn that the collapse of homes is inevitable.

They have sought to placate the 3,600 residents of the village by installing rocks as a short-term coastal defence measure in the areas most affected by erosion. But locals say it isn't enough.

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