Demolition work has begun on a second clifftop home in a picturesque seaside spot, just weeks after another property was knocked down in the village.
Bulldozers have started tearing down The Chantry, in Thorpeness on the Suffolk coast because of its proximity to the crumbling cliff edge, according to ITV News.
The four-bedroom home on North End Avenue was put up for auction in September, selling for £200,000, according to the agents' website.
But East Suffolk Council said demolition had to begin after “critical safety levels” were reached.
At the end of October, neighbor Jean Flick, 88, saw her clifftop home in Thorpeness demolished after what the council described as “significant erosion.”
Evelyn Rumsby, who has lived in the village since 1977, described the latest demolition as “heartbreaking.”
“I don’t think unless you live here, you can’t experience anything like it... the noise of these lovely homes going,” she said, holding back tears.
“The erosion has been extreme over the last months, really extreme, and our only hope now is the shingle might come back if the winds change and we don’t have the intensity of these high winds that we’ve had over the last few months.”
“I do have fears,” she said. “We have to acknowledge that if it [erosion] moved in and this road went, there would be no access to our home site. It’s the access to the properties that is a big consideration.”
A spokesperson for East Suffolk Council said: “We have been working closely with affected property owners following significant recent erosion and sadly, critical safety levels have now been reached for another property on North End Avenue.”
He said demolition is in progress and we will continue to support the owners and their contractors to ensure the building can be taken down safely.
“This is a distressing situation, and we would request that people respect the owner’s privacy at this difficult time,” the spokesperson said.
“It is impossible to accurately predict when further losses may occur as erosion is not linear. Therefore, we are regularly monitoring the area and engaging with property owners on an ongoing basis.”
