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Owners of properties perched on a crumbling Norfolk cliff have been ordered out just days before Christmas so bulldozers can move in.
Homes along The Marrams in Hemsby, long known to be perilously close to collapse, have now been earmarked for demolition as early as next week.
A handful of remaining residents say they have been contacted by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and told to sign waivers agreeing to ‘voluntary’ demolition, with December 15 given as the target start date.
Council officials insist demolition can only go ahead during rare tidal windows and stress that most properties are already empty or derelict.
But several owners who have refused to sign say they feel backed into a corner at the worst possible time, with some ‘walking around in tears’ at the prospect of possibly being made homeless.
The sudden escalation comes two months after residents received advisory notices urging them to move out, though no formal condemnation was issued at the time.
Locals now say it is the first time the council has put a demolition date on the table following assessments that homes face ‘imminent risk’ of falling onto the beach below.
The village of around 3,000 people, famous for boasting ‘1,200 years of fun’, has become a frontline casualty of the sea’s advance.
A report by climate group One Home previously estimated that coastal homes in England worth a total of £584million could be lost to cliff collapses by 2100.
The residents of Fakes Road know that all too well as they have seen it happen – waving goodbye to their neighbours one by one- as the sea takes their homes, mortgages and livelihoods with remorseless efficiency.
Homeowner Eric Forbes, 60, who has lived in his home for three years, said: ‘He won’t let us stay in it until after Christmas. Eight of the 11 [homeowners] will be made homeless.
‘I’ve got other options, but there’s people walking around in tears. These homes are owned by us.
‘I’ve lived there three years, some people have lived there 14 years. For some people, it’s houses that have been passed down by generations.
‘[The person in charge of the demolition project] is talking about people receiving compensation five years down the line.
‘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 council has said it is not legally permitted to compensate homeowners for the loss of their properties to erosion.
Instead, it can only pay for the value of land lost and potentially transfer planning permission to other plots.
Homeowners might receive roughly £5,000 for planning rights, but no alternative housing or land is being offered.
Pascal Rose registered herself as homeless after she was verbally told her home was at risk of demolition.
She said: ‘I feel like I’m now being bullied into signing this voluntary demolition form otherwise I’m going to miss out on the deals offered to me. With compensation, nothing has been put in writing. They will just not commit to saying “We’re definitely going to do this for you.”‘
She added: ‘It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I’ve worked all my life, and I thought I’d secured my future. I bought the property outright and renovated her to my standard.
‘I still come up here every day to see how she is, make sure no one’s broken into her.’
Ms Rose also asked for support from the homeless department at the council and said she was offered a room. However, she has a tea-cup, disabled chihuahua and was told it would cost £20 a night to accommodate her pet, or £560 a month.
She added: ‘There’s no guarantee I would even be homed afterwards. It’s been battle after battle.’
Meanwhile, 80-year-old Carol Boyes, who has been a resident for 35 years, hoped to stay there for one last Christmas.
She told the BBC: ‘But the way things are going at the moment I can’t see it happening [and] I’ve got no Plan B at the moment if this all goes.
‘They have phoned me because of the bad weather but no-one’s come near me and I’m left to my own devices.
‘So I’m just going to stick it out to the end and see what happens [but] we’re all going to lose out down here.’
Neighbour Simon Measures, chairman of the Save Hemsby Coastline group, who has been raising awareness of the erosion issue said support had been minimal: ‘The amount of support you get from the housing officer and the homelessness office teams is pretty minimal.
‘They have to do the best they can with what they’ve got but we’re in the middle of a housing crisis.
‘A number of residents feel like they’re being bullied into voluntarily signing over their properties for demolition.
‘They feel like they’re being high-pressured into taking the deal offered by the council.
‘We don’t know what the sudden hurry is, why the deadline of 2027?
‘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.’
Save Hemsby Coastline has also said the value increase between land with planning permission and that without it would be retained by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and this would allow them to buy additional land and continue this process as more properties are identified as at risk of erosion.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: ‘The council is working closely with the owners of properties impacted by erosion in Hemsby to help them understand the risk to their homes and offer support.
‘The continuing and unpredictable rate of erosion means it is crucial we work with the community in a planned and managed way to avoid the very real risk of properties collapsing on to the beach and last-minute evacuations – something which is extremely stressful and upsetting for those involved, is a public danger and a pollution risk.
‘Since some demolition will need to take place from the beach, with limited times when there are favourable tides, our teams have highlighted several windows of time where demolition is possible.
‘One of these windows to carry out the work is next week.
‘Using money secured from the Government to develop a plan to help people adapt to coastal erosion, the council is able to fund these demolitions as well as providing housing advice where it is needed.
‘The damage caused to the dunes at Hemsby by the recent Storms Amy, Benjamin and Claudia, is a stark reminder of the importance of working with the community in this carefully planned way.’
