jasdooit

• Are you residing in Hemsby? Send an email to caitlin.leng@.co.uk

An older couple, compelled to leave their seaside home with just a few days’ warning, shared their sorrow following the destruction of their property by a local authority that appeared not to have genuine concern.

Glenda and Michael Dennington, both in their 80s, were instructed to vacate their residence in Hembsy, Norfolk, on January 6, as the local council deemed it unsafe due to swift coastal erosion.

Earlier this week, the retired couplewrote to the Daily Mailregarding the sense of betrayal they experience from authorities and insurance companies, which they allege have not provided assistance to residents who are losing their homes along Britain’s most rapidly eroding coastline.

In a sorrowful letter, they wrote: “We were given just one day’s notice to leave, followed by an additional two days to clear the property. Volunteers assisted us, or we would have lost everything.”

The municipal council has provided minimal support to those who are losing their residences. The insurance company shows no interest.

We experience the feeling of being second-class citizens, despite having always worked and contributed by paying our taxes. Now, we and our neighbors have been discarded like waste.

The retired couple was informed they had to leave their home just one day after Michael, 82, was released from the hospital following a hip surgery, and asStorm Goretti struck.

Mrs. Dennington was overwhelmed with emotion as they gathered their possessions and departed from the property, which she referred to as their ‘final resting place.’ The bungalow is now vacant and is scheduled for demolition this week.

The couple purchased their house for £165,000 in August 2012 following a visit where they were charmed by the ‘welcoming’ neighborhood, without any issues or alerts regarding erosion at the time of purchase.

Mrs. Dennington, 80, stated: “We relocated to Norfolk 14 years ago upon retiring because we adore this place. We conducted a comprehensive inspection before moving in, and no one brought up the issue of erosion.”

We were not aware of any erosion until 2013, when other homes were swept away by the sea following the storm surge that December.

In 2018, it was a very difficult year. We saw homes being swallowed by the ocean. It was then that the local council started holding discussions regarding the erosion issue – Michael and I attended all the meetings.

At that point, Mrs. Dennington stated, erosion became a matter of concern for the Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which frequently convened with locals to address planning and financial strategies for dealing with the coastline’s rapid loss.

A total of 36 properties have disappeared into the sea or been destroyed due to erosion since 2013, with 14 homes facing potential danger.crashing into the sea in Hemsby earlier this year due to Storm Goretti. 

This was, however, not something Mrs. Dennington thought would ever impact her and her husband, as both were convinced they had discovered their ‘forever home’.

She stated, “When we relocated there, we could hardly see the ocean. It was far away. And as I mentioned, erosion was not brought up in the survey.”

We never imagined this would occur. The property was like paradise, truly. We have created many joyful memories here.

Shortly after we relocated there, my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She spent numerous joyful hours gazing out into the garden.

Whenever she felt sad, she would come here. She sadly passed away in 2016.

The pain of parting from their home was intensified by watching the destruction take place online.

“I saw on Facebook our house being dismantled, piece by piece,” Mrs. Dennington said.

The front section has been taken out, along with the bathroom and the utility room. At the rear of the house, the conservatory has also been removed. It seems as though the house is being dismantled piece by piece.

It’s deeply upsetting to witness this unfold on social media. I still find it hard to comprehend – neither of us can. We are utterly heartbroken.

Mrs. Dennington explained how she and her spouse were“more or less told to leave” the home they had lived in for over a decade by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

She stated, “On January 6, there was a knock on the door from the council. They informed us that we had to leave the property by Thursday night due to the storm.”

I informed them that Michael wasn’t ready for such an action following his surgery—he was receiving morphine for pain. Therefore, we managed to delay the evacuation until Sunday.

I was advised to ‘simply go and have a cup of tea,’ reflect on the circumstances, and then handle the paperwork.

It was incredible. It seemed as if they wanted me to sell my house quickly – they provided very little warning, and essentially told us that we needed to leave.

We remained awake that night. On Saturday, we simply couldn’t accept that it was our final evening in that bed. It was deeply emotional and still doesn’t seem genuine.

The couple, along with their youngest son Gary and pet dog Rusty, departed from their home on January 8 and initially resided in a temporary lodging at a nearby vacation cabin before relocating to their present rental house.

During the relocation, Mrs. Dennington stated, the council provided little to no assistance.

She mentioned: “Our youngest son, who resides with us, has health issues. He deals with a heart condition and also has a back problem, and when we were attempting to pack our belongings, he did a significant amount of lifting, which resulted in him being unable to do much at all.”

He took care of his father while I was away for 10 or 11 hours each day, working to arrange the clearing of the house. No one from the council offered assistance. They provided no support in helping us relocate – absolutely nothing at all.

Michael wasn’t ready to move, he was still taking morphine. It was truly a terrible experience.

The committee first recommended a bed and breakfast for us to stay at since they could take in us along with our dog, Rusty, or else we needed to find someone to foster Rusty or have family care for him.

But there was no possibility of leaving the dog in an unfamiliar place, and due to Michael’s surgery, a bed and breakfast was simply not an option.

We were also not qualified for a council property due to our savings. We quickly signed the lease for our current home, which our eldest son discovered, within a single day. Without it, we would have had no place to stay.

However, their new rental agreement is only for six months, causing both of them to feel anxious and face a difficult financial position. Mrs. Dennington mentioned that the couple has used a significant part of their savings for the rent.

Furthermore, as mentioned in yesterday’s letter to the Daily Mail, their insurance provider has informed them that coastal erosion is not covered, leaving them without any financial protection.

She added, “We had been saving for retirement, but in the end, with the additional expenses from this move and now having to pay for private rent, we might end up needing to rely on benefits.”

Our savings are set to vanish. We’ve covered six months’ rent for this new property, and I believe we’ve spent roughly £10,000, with nothing tangible to show for it.

Financially, I don’t think we’ll be able to purchase another property. Until circumstances stabilize, we simply aren’t sure about our financial position.

I desire to envision a future for us. Right now, I don’t perceive a future for us because I keep thinking, we have relocated here with just a few possessions, but ultimately, we will have to begin anew in another five and a half months.

We must go through it all once more, and we need to figure out where we’re headed.

The shoreline of Hembsy has undergone major changes over the past fifty years, previously featuring protective sand dunes with houses positioned securely behind them.

Now those sand hills are gone, and many properties have been taken by the ocean. In just the last month, 14 homes have been destroyed, with debris cleared by the local lifeboat station.

Hemsby is not the only one. Houses are also being destroyed at Thorpeness in Suffolk, with several others still in danger.

Authorities have cautioned that unprotected coastal communities such as Hemsby might not have a sustainable future, with this section of the Norfolk coastline being recognized as one of the most rapidly eroding in northern Europe.

A representative from Great Yarmouth Borough Council stated: ‘After the loss of over 10m of cliff in Hemsby at the beginning of January, and with Storm Goretti on the way, several homes were’rated by specialists as being in immediate danger of severely collapsing. 

The council’s main concern is the well-being of its residents, and the family was contacted on January 6 and urged to vacate the property prior to the storm, as it was dangerously near the cliff’s edge.

The choices provided were thoroughly explained, and guidance and assistance regarding housing were given. Temporary housing was arranged, although in this instance it was declined, and the family opted to handle their own arrangements.

It is deeply distressing for anyone confronted with the possibility of leaving their home due to coastal erosion, and the council is striving to assist those impacted during what is a very challenging period for them.

Read more