One resident has said that it didn’t need to be “so hasty”
14:01, 15 Dec 2025Updated 14:08, 15 Dec 2025
11 homes on the Suffolk coast that are in danger of falling in to the sea are set to be demolished(Image: © SWNS)
Several residents claim that they are being made homeless as “coastal erosion” on a cliff means that 11 properties need to be demolished. Seven clifftop homes on one of Europe’s most eroded coastlines face being bulldozed on Monday (December 15), as residents have been left in tears over having to leave before Christmas.
Eleven properties along The Marrams in Hemsby, Norfolk, have been highlighted as at risk of imminently falling into the sea. Great Yarmouth Borough Council said this week had been highlighted as a window of time to carry out some demolitions – but that most homes were vacant or derelict.
But some residents, who have not signed their homes over, say they feel they are being pressured into giving up their properties before Christmas. Locals said vehicles thought to be belonging to the demolition effort pulled up in a car park on Friday (Dec 12).
The residents living in the affected area have been asked to leave their homes before Christmas so they can be demolished(Image: © SWNS)
One homeowner, Eric Forbes, 60, said last week: “There’s 11 of us, we’ve got coastal erosion on our homes. The guy in charge of the erosion project, has decided to have all 11 homes demolished before Christmas. Myself and 11 others. It’s pretty likely, very likely.
“He won’t let us stay in it until after Christmas. Eight of the 11 homes will be made homeless. He was talking about December 15, he said he’d bring in the demolition squad. We know about the erosion, but it’s just how it’s come on so quickly. There’s been talk about this but it was only very slight. There’s no need for it to be hasty.”
The move comes just two months after some residents in The Marrams were handed advisory notices from the council suggesting they should move out. No formal notice of condemnation was given at the time. Locals say this is the first time they have been given a date following officials assessing their houses as being at imminent risk of collapse.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council said it is not legally possible for it to compensate homeowners at risk of erosion. But the council can make payments for the lose of the land on which the properties stood and planning permission could be transferred to other plots.
The existing homeowner would receive approximately £5,000 for the planning rights but there is no free land or homes offered to those at risk of demolished homes.
Simon Measures, chairman of Save Hemsby Coastline, added: “Great Yarmouth Borough Council have been aware of the issues on Hemsby’s coastline for years. It hasn’t just crept up on them. It’s like standing with an axe above your neck, never knowing when it will drop.”
Great Yarmouth Borough Council previously said they were ‘working closely’ with property owners and wanted to avoid last-minute evacuations.