Second home in a month demolished on eroding coast

Demolition work has begun on another house threatened by rapid coastal erosion.

The Chantry in Thorpeness, Suffolk, is being torn down due to the nearby crumbling cliff edge, just a few weeks after another home was demolished.

Maureen Jones, chair of the Aldringham-cum-Thorpe parish council, said it had been "absolutely heartbreaking" to see homes destroyed and called for East Suffolk Council to help residents.

Mark Packard, the authority's cabinet member for planning and coastal management, said the council believed the erosion would eventually "settle down".

The Chantry, on North End Avenue, has been left teetering on the cliff edge following spring high tides.

The house was put on the market last spring with an asking price of £1m, but it failed to sell.

The Warren, which is next door, was demolished in early November, and another home, The Red House, also in North End Avenue, had to be pulled down in 2022.

Ms Jones said the erosion in front of The Chantry had happened "in less than month" which she described as "frightening".

"It's absolutely heartbreaking to see all of these beautiful houses having to be destroyed because of all the erosion," she said.

"It's absolutely devastating for the village."

Ms Jones had previously warned that sea defences would be needed for the winter and she feared things would only worsen.

Defences including rocks, gabions and geobags, have been installed to manage the effects of coastal erosion, but last year up to 23ft (7m) of coast was lost to the sea.

Residents in the village offered to pay for more sea defences to protect their homes, but Packard said they had not been properly planned and the council could not support them.

"It is a lot of frustration and concern for these people," Ms Jones added.

"It is absolutely devastating for them that they cannot be allowed to do something to protect their homes."

Packard said the council was in contact with residents "all the time" and a drone was flown weekly to monitor the erosion.

The cost of adding defences would be £9m, something Packard said was not financially viable.

"What we feel is that in the future this will settle down," he explained.

"A beach will be formed here and the sea will be held back by the natural defences, by nature, and that's what we'll be looking at.

"We're going to, what they call, hold the line. We're going to hold it as best as we can."

He added that bags filled with rocks had been put in place and "worked to an extent", and while he admitted that "maybe we should have done more", the council had not anticipated the erosion worsening in recent years.

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