England’s east coast has lost 183 homes to erosion in 16 years
At least 183 homes along England’s east coast have been demolished after councils judged them unsafe, figures obtained by the Guardian show. The demolitions cost £1.1m (€1.3m), with the Environment Agency contributing about £482,000 (€557,000); the Guardian reports there is no UK insurance product for coastal erosion.
Bottom line — The Environment Agency estimates 3,500 English properties face coastal erosion risk by 2055.
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East Riding of Yorkshire council has demolished 66 homes since 2010, the Guardian reports.
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Great Yarmouth council has demolished 64 homes in Hemsby; 41 were removed since December 2025, according to the Guardian.
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Hemsby lost more than 10 metres of land in just over 12 months, the local council told the Guardian.
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The Environment Agency estimates more than 10,000 properties could be at risk by 2105.
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The Guardian reports that more than 10 km of major roads, 172 km of minor roads and 5.6 km of railway are also at risk over 80 years.
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Sophie Day of the University of East Anglia says soft, sandy and silty east-coast geology is vulnerable, with wetter winters, storms and rising seas worsening erosion.
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The Environment Agency says it is providing £36m (€41.6m) for coastal erosion adaptation pilots and offering £10,000 (€11,600) grants for safe demolition.