Homes teetering on the cliff edge of a beach will be demolished by local authorities after they were deemed “not structurally sound”.
Local authority Great Yarmouth Borough Council has been forced to knock down homes in Hemsby, Norfolk, due to local erosion.
Strong winds and high tides have destroyed part of a road in The Marrams, leaving several properties nearby the local beachfront at risk.
Workers knocked down the first of five properties in the area listed for demolition this morning after confirming they were unsafe.
The borough council said it had hired a demolition company to knock down the buildings they said are “not structurally sound and are unsafe”.
Wrecking machines were seen on Hemsby Beach today (December 9) starting the first day of work demolishing the properties.
Crews have to coordinate their work in line with the local tides, and the entire process is expected to take four days in total.
Their presence and the demolition order have not gone over well with locals, who are “sad and angry” that the properties are being torn down.
Speaking to the Press Association news agency, Simon Measures, chairman of Save Hemsby Coastline said local feeling is fluctuating “from extreme sadness to extreme anger”.
In the days following the demolition announcement, he said locals have been “talking, crying and shouting”.
He added: “We feel like we’re being picked off one by one. Our life savings are in these buildings.”
Mr Measures has called for the council to build sea defences – expected to cost £20million – that could protect 1.3km (0.8 miles) of land and several dozen homes.
He said: “It’s a day-to-day strain. I, along with everybody else, we live on weather reports. If someone tells us there’s going to be high winds we really panic.”
Carl Smith, leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said the council is “working hard with our partners and other agencies to work out how we best adapt to the changing shape of our coast in the coming years” and said his thoughts are with those affected.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Government flood defence grant-in-aid is available to Great Yarmouth Borough Council, as the risk management authority, to fund or part-fund flood and coast erosion risk management schemes.
“To apply for funding, risk management authorities need to submit a business case to the Environment Agency showing how the project will work, that it will last, that it is able to be delivered and is environmentally acceptable.”
