The three main parties have given their views on tackling the problems of coastal erosion along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast.

Last year, proposals to protect the port of Felixstowe and other major towns were put forward by the Environment Agency.

However, Suffolk could still lose the village of Covehithe and 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of farmland as part of a “managed retreat”.

In the Norfolk village of Happisburgh a coastguard station is under threat as the cliff edge it is located near has eroded by 20ft (6.1m) in a decade. (more…)

NEW national seashore defence policies could mean major changes for two Torbay beaches.

Before Torbay Council adopts the latest version of the shoreline management plan to meet climate change predictions, it is to consult about the future of Goodrington Sands North and Broadsands.

The latest version of the government’s plan proposes not fighting the sea but allowing a ‘managed retreat’ inland to create new beaches. (more…)

A village in the forefront of the battle against coastal erosion is hitting back with a £1.6m package of measures to help local people.

Residents of Happisburgh talked to officials at the weekend about a range of projects from buying up endangered homes to tidying up the clifftop and beach.

And a local coastal campaigner stressed that the way the village tackled the issues was a crucial blueprint for helping other communities in the same situation. (more…)

RESIDENTS living in the most unstable part of Lyme Regis have welcomed the news that plans to protect the East Cliff have been approved by district planners.

The £20million plans to stop the town’s eastern flank from slipping into the sea went before West Dorset District Council’s development control committee last week.

It is the next major step in work to improve the landslip areas at Church and East Cliffs and protect the town, its infrastructure and historic structures. (more…)

RESIDENTS are being urged to have their say about the future of the coastline in Rochford.

Consultation on the Essex Shoreline Management Plan is open until June 18 and if you live in Rochford District you can register your views at a number of drop in events.

The plan has been developed by the Environment Agency and there will be the opportunity to speak with officers from the Agency at several events. (more…)

From tailbacks on the A11 to slow trains to London, a tortoise-speed broadband service to lack of affordable homes, the big issues of this election affect businesses and individuals alike.

Everyone who has sat in a traffic jam at Elveden, been frustrated by a slow internet connection or seen their children forced to leave the village they grew up in because of rising house prices will want to ensure their vote plays a part in bringing change for the better.

For those on and near the coast, few issues are more important than the prospect of losing a home to the sea or a home being uninsurable because of the risk of flooding. (more…)

Jules Pretty decided that blistered feet would be worth enduring to observe at close quarters the social, as well as environmental, effects of coastal erosion. The professor of environment and society at Essex University walked 400 miles around the coastline of East Anglia and travelled another 100 miles by boat. “I started under the M25 at Thurrock in Essex and finished up at King’s Lyn in Norfolk,” he says over the noise from the espresso machine in an Italian café near the Royal Society, where he is heading for a meeting. (more…)

A NIGHTMARE scenario of properties being lost and Coverack effectively being cut in two has prompted St Keverne Parish Council to take swift action.

The prospect of coastal erosion around The Lizard is contained in a shoreline management plan being drawn up for government agencies and Cornwall Council.

Among other things it also suggests there could be flooding if Loe Bar, which currently separates the sea from Helston – parts of which are below sea level – is breached. (more…)