Ex-grenadier guard whose house on top of a cliff was about to fall into the sea begins to try to recover his property
An ex-soldier whose clifftop home is at risk of falling into the sea says he must “move it or lose it,” possibly in a matter of hours.
Lance Martin, 65, today launched a desperate bid to pull his 50-tonne property off the eroded coastal cliff in Hemsby, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and issued an urgent call for heavy machinery contractors to help him literally ‘turn home”.
Martin says he wants to drag his house back 130 feet, after three properties along the same beach were demolished over the weekend following a succession of extremely high tides off Norfolk’s east coast.
“Now we are in a race against time,” said Mr. Martin, as he and his partner frantically dug with pickaxes just yards from the cliff’s edge so they could fix a telegraph pole under the edge of the frame house, which will then be attached to cranes and cables for extraordinary movement.
The land behind the property, where it is intended to move, belongs to a local landowner who has given permission to level it for Mr. Martin’s house.
Lance Martin fighting to save his Dune Fall home from falling into the sea
In 2018, Mr. Martin was able to drag his timber property called ‘Dune Fall’ away from the coast, using heavy machinery, and will now do the same.
The land behind the property, where it is intended to move, belongs to a local landowner who has given permission to level it for Mr. Martin’s house.
In 2018, Mr. Martin was able to drag his wooden property called ‘Dune Fall’ away from the coast, using heavy machinery, and now he knows his only chance to save it means having to do the same thing again.
But after losing 4m at sea just last weekend, time, tide and the odds are against him.
He was one of five residents of The Marrams in Hemsby who were evacuated last Thursday after a 12-foot tide threatened their homes once again.
Now he says he wants to drag it another 130 feet with a tractor, after several neighboring houses were demolished last weekend.
Great Yarmouth council officials were milling around the property this morning, where a section of road just yards away collapsed into the sea, making it impassable.
Although Mr Martin has been given time for his ‘adaptation plan’ (moving the property) before demolition is deemed necessary, he said he has been told privately that he is ‘number one’ on the demolition list .
He told MailOnline: ‘The council firstly gave me a week to 10 days to move it. But obviously their calendar moves with record erosion around the coast.
“I heard this morning that I was placed number one on the wrecking list, which is a bit worrying and upsetting.
He wants to drag it 40 meters more with a tractor, after several neighboring houses were demolished last weekend
Erosion at Hemsby Beach, Norfolk threatens coastal homes
Martin, 65, has described it as a “race against time” to save his home.
“Obviously I can only work as fast as people can get me the machinery,” he said.
He said he has no regrets buying the property with its ‘infinity pool’ visible through the window, as he jokingly referred to the North Sea.
‘Obviously I can only work as fast as people can get me the machinery. I can not do anything else.
‘That’s why I’m asking for as much machinery as possible and I plan to get as low down as possible so we can do it. as soon as possible.
Martin bought the house for £95,000 in 2017 and insisted that he could stand on its roof and still not see the sea when he first moved in.
He said he has no regrets buying the property with its ‘infinity pool’ visible through the window, as he jokingly referred to the North Sea.
A surveyor told him to expect a 3-foot loss of dunes each year due to erosion, but revealed that he lost almost 100 feet during the Beast from the East storm alone in 2018.
Each of his neighbors have been evicted from their adjacent properties amid safety fears, but Martin has always insisted he has no intention of leaving his dream home.
His earlier plan to move the house inland cost him £100,000 and he put up his own makeshift coastal defenses on the beach below, using concrete blocks, but today they seemed to have little effect as the path past his house fell into the sea.
Mr Martin bought the house for £95,000 in 2017 and insisted he could stand on its roof and still not see the sea when he first moved in.
Neighbors have been evicted from their adjacent properties amid security fears, but Mr Martin has always insisted he has no intention of leaving his dream home.
Today he told MailOnline that he had mentally prepared himself to move away from the property, saying: ‘I’m always an optimist. There are always opportunities, and I will find them somewhere. I’m not particularly worried.
‘After 22 years in the Army, you learned to walk away from things and put them in little boxes. I’ll shed a tear for a minute or two, then pack my bags and move on.
‘It will be the end of that fantastic infinity pool beyond me. Waking up to that every morning really feeling the sound of the sea bass through the building is just a fantastic way to live.”
Martin served in the Grenadier Guards from 1978 to 2000 and moved to the coast after retiring from his security job and selling his apartment in Dagenham, east London.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Council’s coastal management team, Coastal Partnership East (CPE), said today: ‘Great Yarmouth Council, through CPE, is initiating emergency works to reduce the risk of erosion on the Great Yarmouth City Road. main access to the Marrams. This road provides access to various properties and is also the conduit for utilities such as water and electricity.
‘All those with homes at risk have been visited by the council’s housing and community teams who continue to offer advice. Storage space has been arranged for people who need a place to put their belongings and assistance is being provided to move items.’