'Inevitable' erosion-hit area will lose more homes

Up to 6ft (1.8m) of beach was washed away by the sea at Hemsby at the weekend

A coastal community at risk of erosion has been warned they face the "inevitable situation of losing more properties" by their MP and councils.

Hemsby is on a vulnerable stretch of Norfolk coastline, where five homes had to be demolished earlier this year.

A further 6ft (1.8m) of sandy cliff was lost to the sea at the weekend leaving another home close to the cliff edge.

MP Sir Brandon Lewis, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council said the cost of the originally proposed £15m sea defence scheme had risen "significantly higher" because of inflation, and the village "doesn’t qualify for sufficient government funding to allow it to progress".

The BBC understands the updated figure is about £20m.

Three-metre waves and strong easterly winds have been forecast for Hemsby, Norfolk for Friday and Saturday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning for many coastal and inland areas across England.

As it happened: The BBC's live page from Hemsby in March

One home remains close to the cliff edge following further erosion

In a joint statement Sir Brandon, the Great Yarmouth MP, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Coastal Partnership East and Norfolk County Council, said they had "proactively lobbied over a number of years to argue the case for Hemsby".

It said: "The primary source of funding for the proposed work would be via a Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid (FDGIA) from the government and the amount of funding available depends on the number of assets - mainly residential properties - that would benefit from a reduced risk of erosion once the scheme is completed.

"Currently schemes of this cost and scale would only attract FDGIA where hundreds of homes are at risk."

Planning permission had already been granted for 0.8-mile (1.3km) concrete berm to try to protect the cliff, at a cost of £15m.

However, "the proposed scheme for Hemsby doesn’t qualify for sufficient government funding to allow it to progress," the statement said.

About 2,000 tonnes of granite was placed along a 262ft (80m) section of cliff at the end of March in an emergency bid to protect the area, at a cost of £735,000.

Crews from Hemsby Lifeboat are trying to protect homes from further erosion

The joint statement added: "Given this context, Great Yarmouth Borough Council is looking at what funding and powers are available to try to avoid further emergency scenarios of people moving out of their homes literally overnight.

‘’We are preparing for what now appears to be the inevitable situation of losing more properties, either by the loss of the access road or directly from erosion.

"We are actively engaging with the residents of those properties which are likely to be affected to understand what support they will need to respond now to the risk of further erosion.

‘’Great Yarmouth Borough Council is also in continued dialogue with the landowner to find out what assistance they intend to provide to people affected.’’

Campaigners from Save Hemsby Coastline are calling for authorities to take action

Earlier, crews from Hemsby Lifeboat moved rocks along the beach to try to protect the clifftop home from further erosion.

Daniel Hurd, coxswain of the lifeboat, said: "The last thing you want is someone losing their property, but it’s not looking good for her [the homeowner].

"She's fully aware of the situation she’s in. We don’t want to see that property go."

Campaigners fighting for sea defences at Hemsby have made a sign criticising the Environment Agency, government and Sir Brandon.