A coastal community gathered at the weekend to discuss how best to move its erosion-threatened village hall further inland.

The exhibition at Trimingham, near Cromer, on Saturday was the beginning of one of the first projects to be funded by a share of north Norfolk’s £3m “pathfinder” cash.

The money, part of a nationwide pot of £11m, was awarded to the district council late last year by the government to tackle the effects of coastal change. (more…)

Hopton villagers campaigning to save their homes from the North Sea have formed an action group to battle for money for defences – and plan to “go for the jugular”.

Brian Hardisty, chairman of the new Hopton Coastal Action Group, said the nine-member committee wanted the government to maintain rather than abandon sea defences and had formed arguments to support its position.

He added that clifftop housing worth an estimated £5m plus two holiday villages were at stake, and said he was unconvinced by statis-tics predicting the rate of erosion which were already well out, concrete defences near Corton having failed within three years and not the predicted 15-20 years. (more…)

Buy-to-let schemes for cliff-top houses and the potential relocation of businesses are among the ideas being put forward as part of a multi-million pound project to protect communities living around the Norfolk and Suffolk coast.

East of England minister Barbara Follett joined coastal councillors and environmental experts at the second Coastal Initiative Conference yesterday to find out about the projects which are being funded by nearly £5m of government grants.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) awarded money at the end of last year to local authorities in North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney to push forward with projects to find out how communities can adapt to the impacts of erosion and coastal change. (more…)

CAMPAIGNERS are making waves in their battle to protect Hopton’s seaside community from erosion.

Clifftop resident Brian Hardisty says officials have played down the effect of the outer harbour on the shrinking sands and is seeking answers, possibly by making a Freedom of Information request to see “secret” documents.

Mr Hardisty wants to set up an independent coastal erosion group to challenge the Shoreline Management Plan which is being revised this year. (more…)

Posted on the Norfolk Coast website:

Consultation’s now closed as far as the Shoreline Management Plan for The Wash and that bit of the Norfolk Coast’s concerned.

There’ll doubtless be an uproar at some point, when people wake up to the sections which apply to Hunstanton’s much-loved candy cliffs.

Erosion of same won’t just threaten the Lighthouse within a generation – depending which projection or forecast you believe.

It will also spell some serious consequences for Cliff Parade, unless something’s done – as opposed to the leave it to natural forces approach outlined in the draft Shoreline Management Plan.

We wonder what people living up there think. Could this be the next Happisburgh within a generation..?

North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has been awarded a grant of £3 million to develop new ways of managing the impacts of coastal change on our coastal communities.  This comes from the Coastal Change Fund announced in the Government’s Coastal Change Policy.

• Find out more about the North Norfolk Pathfinder

Villagers in Hopton are hoping a beach monitoring study by outer harbour operators EastPort will lead to action over their fast-depleting sands.

Another winter has gnawed even more out of the resort’s beach, now reduced to a shingly stretch with exposed sheet piling on the doorstep of popular holiday resorts.

Meanwhile beaches either side are faring differently with Gorleston’s getter bigger all the time and Corton’s virtually gone, complicating the picture. (more…)

One of north Norfolk’s major landowners has voiced “real concerns” about long-term plans aimed at managing the impact of climate change along its coastal borders.

Senior Environment Agency (EA) planners are finalising an updated shoreline management plan (SMP) for the 75km stretch of coast from Hunstanton to Kelling.

A four-month public consultation on the draft ideas was completed in November with feedback due to be taken into account before final plans are presented to councils for adoption in March.

But a response from the Holkham Estate raises concern about the impact on farmland and freshwater habitats and says the consultation should be extended to allow direct dialogue on any changes made. (more…)

Could it be salvation for Norfolk – or is it cloud cuckoo land?

A massive wall built out at sea and linking Great Yarmouth to Happisburgh, enclosing dozens of square miles of water and turning it into a freshwater haven for wildlife and tourism, could be the answer to some of the climate change challenges facing Norfolk and the northern Broads.

The idea has been put forward by Mike Evans, who has held a series of high-profile posts in the boating world, such as chairman of the Royal Yachting Association, and is the current president of the Norfolk and Suffolk Boating Association and a representative of private boat owners at the Broads Authority. (more…)

Homeowners in the coastal erosion hotspot Happisburgh will not have to wait for long into the new year for discussions to start about the payments they may receive for their houses under a project to tackle the impacts of coastal change.

As reported previously in the EDP, North Norfolk District Council has been awarded a £3m pot of government money to trial a number of ground breaking ‘pathfinder’ projects to tackle the impacts which erosion has on communities, individuals and businesses.

The most awaited of those projects is a plan for the council to offer to buy a small handful of the most at-risk houses along Beach Road in Happisburgh and demolish them, allowing their occupants to buy another home instead of being left with nothing. (more…)