Coastal community describe 'huge toll' of fears next storm could destroy their homes

Campaigners in a village where dozens of homes are at risk of being swallowed by the sea are pressing for better defences, saying all they have is "a large sandcastle" to protect them.

Ian Brennan, chairman of the Save Hemsby Coastline charity in Norfolk, said more than 90 homes in Hemsby are at risk of going into the sea in the next 25 years if nothing is done.

Mr Brennan, 63, spoke as climate action group One Home revealed that an estimated £584 million of coastal homes in England could be lost to the sea by 2100.

Mr Brennan said that 1.1 miles (1.9km) of coast is under threat at Hemsby.

Save Hemsby Coastline, which was formed 10 years ago when several homes were lost during a storm surge, is seeking permission and funding for rock berm sea defences.

"Essentially, all we really have is a large sandcastle protecting us,” said Mr Brennan.

“It’s sand that’s blown up, captured by the marram grass, and that’s all there is protecting the front of the village.

"There used to be three rows of marrams and now you’re down to the very last one and then you’re into the village proper.”

He said an initial lowest estimate for the cost of a rock berm was given as £5 million, but costs are increasing.

"My biggest fear is we’re going to reach a point where the powers that be say ‘yes you’ve got planning permission, go for it if you can raise the money’ and we’re then asking for £30 million or something to do a medium-sized berm that isn’t really going to be what we need,” he said.

“We’re not doing it because we believe it’s going to make Hemsby permanently safe.

“But it will buy time to allow people to adapt their lives."

He added: “People here are very nervous.

“Every time there is a storm those who live within sight and sound of the sea fear it will be the one which means they lose their home.

"It takes a huge toll on their mental health.

"Lots of people say ‘why are you bothering, you know you can’t stop the sea’.

“But adaptation is possible, and it’s about spending and political will.”

Meanwhile, TV producer Lucy Ansbro said she had spent £500,000 protecting her home from coastal erosion in Thorpeness, Suffolk.

The 54-year-old said her neighbour’s mansion, once worth £2 million, was demolished in October 2022 as receding cliffs made it unsafe.

"Owners need to know how quickly change can happen if you live on vulnerable parts of the coast,” she said.

“Surveys and solicitors’ checks don’t include erosion but I was aware there was a threat of erosion when I bought this house in 2009.

"However, I never dreamed it would be this severe.

"No research I did suggested it would ever happen this quickly."

She added: "The worst-case scenario predicted losing five metres to the sea within 50 years but, in fact, I lost five metres in 2020 alone.

"Houses behind mine, less than 50m from the clifftop, have recently sold for close to £1 million.

"Nobody is taking this seriously or accepting that communities are at serious risk.”

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