This petition has been reviewed and the following response has been offered:
Norfolk County Council does not have any statutory responsibilities for coastal
management at Hemsby but supports adaptation and resilience measures to help the
community and environment adapt to the changing coastline.
As the Local Authority with statutory responsibility for coastal management, Great
Yarmouth Borough Council continuously monitors this part of the coastline to understand
the impact of erosion and the risks posed to properties on the frontage at Hemsby and
other locations.
As part of managing ongoing erosion at Hemsby, the borough council commissioned an
independent report from internationally respected coastal engineers into the informal sea
defences placed on the beach by residents, as well as the emergency rock berm that
was placed on the beach by the borough council in 2023 to protect the access road.
That road has now been lost to erosion.
The report is publicly available and can be found here. The report provides an overview
of the different items placed on the beach, their effectiveness in preventing or slowing
erosion, any health and safety risks posed by the items and considers alternative safe
beach access points that may be necessary as erosion progresses.
In response to the report, the Borough council, along with the landowner, the Crown
Estate, continuously monitor the items on the beach at Hemsby to assess their impact
on surrounding properties. These informal defences are exacerbating the rate of erosion
in several places, negatively impacting some neighbouring properties, and pose health
and safety risks to the public as they move due to changes to the height of the beach
and the impact of wave action.
At this stage the borough council is not planning to remove any items from the beach,
but as erosion and beach levels changes, there will inevitably come a time when these
items will need to be removed or repurposed to safely manage the risk posed to the
public and prevent worsening the erosion.
Any changes will be considered and made in consultation with the Hemsby stakeholder
group and residents along the frontage.