Proposals to realign coastal defences and surrender part of a nature reserve to the sea look set to get the go ahead.

RSPB wardens have applied for planning permission to allow some of the sea wall at Titchwell Marsh, near Hunstanton, to be breached.

They existing defences are prone to being overwhelmed by storm surges, which would lead to a “catastrophic loss of habitat” for rare birds including the bittern and bearded tit.

But by allowing controlled flooding on parts of the site, brackish lagoons would become salt marsh and provide a barrier for more important freshwater pools and reedbeds further inland.

A report to councillors says: “In the face of decades of coastal erosion (the wearing away of coastal habitats by wave action and tides), the RSPB has worked to maintain its internationally-important reserve at Titchwell Marsh for as long as possible.

“However, the RSPB recognises that, with changing coastal processes and rising sea levels, a new approach is now required.”

Up to 85,000 people a year visit the marsh, which is one of the RSPB’s most-visited reserves. A spokesman for the society, which began improving habitats after buying the site in 1974, said: “The plans are really exciting, there’s a great opportunity for Titchwell.”

West Norfolk councillors have been recommended to approve the plans, subject to a prior archaeological investigation.

Relics such as flints dating back to 8,000BC and beyond have been found in the area. They date back to the time when Titchwell was up to 100 miles inland, with much of the North Sea a great plain.

Further out into The Wash, the remains of an ancient forest are sometimes exposed on the lowest spring tides.

Councillors meet to discuss the plans on March 2. If planning permission is granted work is likely to begin in the autumn.

Meanwhile, the RSPB hopes the recent cold snap has not harmed Britain’s bitterns. With up to 11 booming males, East Anglia is one of the rare wader’s few remaining strongholds.

Numbers dwindled to as few as 11 breeding pairs across the whole country in the late 1990s. Now there are nearly 80 but scientists are warning some of the secretive birds, which hide deep in reedbeds, could have succumbed to sub-zero temperatures.

RSPB spokeswoman Erica Howe said: “There is evidence that some bitterns have suffered this winter meaning that there could be a shortfall this summer when the breeding season comes back around.”

Story by Chris Bishop in the Eastern Daily Press