Despite the dream of owning a cottage by the sea, many villages and towns across England, are finding their homes literally being swept away by hide tides. The village of Hemsby (Norfolk) has recently been in the news, as over 8ft of beach has been swept away in recent months, and people have literally lost their homes.
And the government literally does nothing, providing no compensation. Yet the solution (a rock berm) could prevent this happening again.
Why Coastal Erosion is Deadly Serious
Coastal erosion is for the most part, a natural process. Usually caused by storms and simple geography of England’s landscape. Apparently coastal geologists have a joke answer to the question ‘how far is a house from sea’, with the answer ‘about 5 years’. Less funny is people losing their (impossible to insure) houses, and sometimes coastal erosion has caused serious floods, leading to loss of life.
Climate change does play a part, but in this case, it’s more to do with the fact that we are simply an island nation. The British Geological Survey now writes that there are around 30,000 houses across the nation within 25 metres of sliding into the sea.
In 1953, a serious storm on England’s east coast (which killed hundreds of people and more on the Continent) led to many measures taken (like concrete sea walls) but obviously these measures are not working for Hemsby, nor for the nearby village of Happisburgh (pronounced ‘hayz-bur-ruh) which also has many homes in peril.
Our Norfolk and Yorkshire coasts now have some of Europe’s fastest-eroding coastlines, and already many villages have literally disappeared into the North Sea.
The ancient fishing village of Eccles-on-Sea still remains, but most of the original village was literally lost to the oceans in the late 1500s, even the church. It’s almost eerie that after bad storms, ‘sea-bleached skeletons’ appear in the sand of the church and other buildings.
One disabled man who was told his home had 80 years left intact, recently lost everything, when his house washed away. With help from Friends of the Earth, he took the government to court, saying they needed to do more on climate action. He lost the case, the High Court basically said he had lost his home, and that was that. An appeal is pending.
Why Coastal Erosion is an Urgent Issue
Coastal erosion is an urgent issue, with around 9000 properties at immediate risk, and much more in the years to come. Rising sea levels (caused by climate change) is speeding up the inevitable.
And of course climate change also causes other risks like severe storms and waterlogged soil (meaning it’s more likely for sandy cliffs to break under the weight of our frequent rainfall).
The obvious solution for many villages is to move the buildings back further, but for some people this is not possible or affordable. And in Happisburgh, sea defences were so badly damaged, they had to be removed in the 90s, to avoid them collapsing.
Instead, the sad story is that the homes are gradually being taken down, though again there is little financial compensation for people who own or rent permanent or holiday homes in this popular seaside retreat.
The National Trust looks after almost 800 miles of UK coastline, and are the experts in the best ways to reduce coastal erosion. They say building coastal defences is now not enough – like sticking a plaster on a volcano.
One idea it has had (in Pembrokeshire, Wales) is to take 100 acres of dune grassland out of active farming, and instead restore reed beds and fen meadows to protect local flora. It’s also trying to relocate buildings, shorelines and habitats to provide new safer homes for wildlife, further away from the sea.
The Dutch Answer to Coastal Erosion?
Reefy is an invention from The Netherlands, which creates an artificial reef to stop coastal erosion. Due to frequent floods on a flat marshy land, Holland has been at the forefront of finding effective solutions to flooding issues.
Good for beaches or rivers, this is stable enough to dissipate 90% of wave energy, whilst still retaining natural habitats for marine wildlife. In Australia, seawalls are built alongside the coast, to stop waves from contacting the shore.
A Book on How to Manage Coastal Erosion
New Coast is a book by an American expert on the issues of rising seas, looking at how they impact natural systems and communities, and what can be done.
Drawing on 40 years of experience at the Environmental Protection Agency, the author is critical of how the former Trump administration weakened efforts to find solutions, and suggests new policy changes at local and national level to restore and protect our coastlines.
Plants that grow on sand dunes feature deep roots that stabilise the dunes, to prevent erosion. Their roots help to bind the sand together, creating habitats also for wildlife. Without these plants, the dunes would shift uncontrollably, leading to habitat loss for many species.
Various species also rely on sand dunes for nesting and feeding, like puffins and plover birds. Small mammals like rabbits and foxes also find shelter in sand dunes, making it crucial to maintain them, for ecosystem balance.
