A big section of the Norfolk Broads as well as a cluster of villages and thousands of acres of farmland face being surrendered to the sea under secret plans to save the rest of the Norfolk coast from the impact of climate change. A scheme drawn up by experts at Natural England, the body born out of the Countryside Agency and English Nature in 2006, envisages that 25 square miles of fen and fields would be wiped off the map for ever in an attempt to realign the coastline.

Read the full story by Countryside Editor Valerie Elliott on the Times website