Coastal residents have called for more help in tackling erosion before they back a new shoreline management strategy.

A straw poll among 100 people who attended a meeting at Happisburgh voted to reject the latest SMP between Kelling and Lowestoft, because revisions did not go far enough to compensate the communities affected by cutting back on sea defences.

The key aim of the meeting held on Friday was to see what people felt about the newly revised draft SMP for the section of coast between Lowestoft and Kelling, drawn up in consultation by North Norfolk District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Waveney District Council and the Environment Agency.

The SMP which dates back to 2004, provides a large-scale assessment of coastal evolution and presents a policy framework which determines how the shoreline will be managed, for instance which sections of the coast are to be protected.

The revised draft includes three conditions, the first being that a proper technical analysis of the coastline should be carried out looking at what the consequences are of defending one place but not another.

The second condition is for an economic analysis looking at what will be lost and the final condition, that if an area is not to be defended then the social justice and compensation issue be addressed.

Malcolm Kerby from the Coastal Concern Action Group, who organised the meeting, acknowledged the work the councillors had done with the revised plan, but said the feeling was that it did not go far enough.

He said: “We had more than 100 people at the meeting and with a straw poll I took everyone wanted to reject the revised SMP, unless there is a social justice element not just as a condition, but actually built into or made to run concurrent with it.”

District councillor Clive Stockton, portfolio holder for planning policy, coastal strategy and economic development, said however that he believed both the council and the villagers were “singing from the same hymn sheet” with the revised plan.

He also pointed to the pathfinder programme whereby the council has been given £3m as part of the government’s national programme designed to find new ways to help communities adapt to a changing coastline, as starting to go some way to addressing the social justice issue.

The revised SMP plan is due to come back before members of North Norfolk District Council later in the year for acceptance now it has been altered.

Story by Tracey Gray in the Eastern Daily Press

Inevitably the Kelling to Lowestoft Ness Second Generation Shoreline Management Plan (SMP2) has reared its ugly head again. This time it takes the form of a consultation on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the SMP2.

Whilst this latest consultation is concerned solely with the SEA it is, quite understandably, being interpreted by many local individuals and communities as a further ‘referendum’ on the SMP itself.

It is now almost six years since this particular SMP2 hit the press (Oct 04) and produced an absolutely unprecedented response (well over 2000 respondents) which expressed the stakeholders (public) utter revulsion and rejection of it and the policy path it proposed for many areas. There was and still remains no policy for or means of managing the consequences of its proposals.

Read Malcolm Kerby’s full comments on the CCAG Website

The challenges of defending the Norfolk and Suffolk coast from the North Sea look set for another good airing in the coming months. ED FOSS examines the state of play of two key projects – the shoreline management plan for Kelling to Lowestoft and the Pathfinder schemes, which attracted millions of pounds of funding into East Anglia last winter.

Back in 2004, all hell was let loose when the Kelling to Lowestoft Ness shoreline management plan (SMP) was published in its first public draft form, suggesting some dramatic losses of land and homes along the coastline across the next century.

Following its traumatic arrival into the world, thousands of hours of work have been put into consultations, reports and meetings to try to bring the SMP to a standard acceptable to the mainly rural coastal communities which, at the time, justifiably feared they were about to be swept aside both literally by a pounding North Sea and metaphorically by a central government with a perceived urban focus.

The demand has, famously, been for communities facing losing homes and businesses to be guaranteed “social justice”, which in most cases constitutes financial compensation in all but name.

As another set of meetings looms to see if the tinkered SMP can finally get the nod from the relevant maritime local authorities so it can become a ‘set in stone’ document nearly six years on, views about whether enough has been done have begun to emerge. And there are clearly differences of opinion.

In parallel to this debate is the progress of the Pathfinder project, which in December saw three local authorities – North Norfolk (£3m), Waveney (£1.5m) and Great Yarmouth (£296,500) – win bids totalling nearly £5m out of a national pot of £11m to address coastal challenges.

The headline part of Pathfinder was the prospect of buying and demolishing some of the most at-risk homes on Beach Road in Happisburgh, allowing homeowners to escape with more than nothing following the slow but certain loss of what for many is the main lifetime purchase.

There are emerging differences of opinion about how successful the Pathfinder will end up being, but they do not seem as potentially divisive as those over the SMP.

The main point at this stage is to redraw the battle lines over the SMP and gear up for a further fight,according to Malcolm Kerby, the Happisburgh-based co-ordinator of the Coastal Concern Action Group (CCAG) and chairman of the National Voice of Coastal Communities (NVCC).

Along the frontage involved – from north Suffolk to somewhere near the middle of the north Norfolk coast – people have been beginning to rebuild their opposition to the plan, and need to carry on doing so, according to Mr Kerby.

A consultation into one aspect of the SMP, the strategic environmental assessment, will finish on July 2. Although it is technically only about that aspect, it has been taken to be a chance to ask about and ponder the wider plan ahead of local authorities being asked to vote on it.

“When the SMP comes up for acceptance again in this area, if there is still no social justice built into it, which at the moment I believe there is not, I shall do all I can to fight to stop it being accepted, and I would encourage others to do so,” said Mr Kerby.

“More than five years ago we went through massive pain and turmoil here over the SMP and we have to give huge credit to the elected members at North Norfolk District Council for standing their ground and refusing to accept it.

“The stand we took all those years ago has moved the whole situation on by a significant amount, but in some ways we are just back to square one.

“Social justice is at least actively under consideration by the authorities and there is recognition that something will have to be done to address the consequences of the SMPs on coastal communities, but there is nothing yet locked in place within the SMP itself.”

To accept the SMP under those circumstances would be a “giant leap of faith in the dark,” said Mr Kerby, as he encouraged district councillors to take another stand and for people to lobby their councillors with the same intention.

For Peter Frew, head of coastal strategy at North Norfolk District Council, the response from around 100 people at a recent set of SMP consultation meetings in Sea Palling, Great Yarmouth, Corton and Mundesley was of a different nature to Mr Kerby’s stance.

“The people who came to see me wanted to know if their concerns about changing policies had been put into the SMP and they went away satisfied.

“By and large we have been able to allay people’s fears.”

It was the subsequent and separate work, such as Pathfinder, which would address the issues around social justice, said Mr Frew. The SMP would potentially come before the district council’s cabinet in November, added Mr Frew.

Pathfinder project

Although widely accepted as being born out of the original SMP crisis, the Pathfinder project is a separate strand of activity, a short-term attempt to solve some localised problems while, arguably more importantly, trying to identify longerterm solutions to generic problems.

Pathfinder has a wide mandate, including working out how to help businesses relocate in the face of erosion, assessing the viability of buying and demolishing privatelyowned property and trying to formulate policy for moving community buildings so they survive for longer.

Concerns have been raised that the project (it’s not a pilot, apparently – Defra doesn’t like it being called that) has not moved forward quickly enough since the cash handouts were confirmed in December, with people living in the relevant Happisburgh houses only receiving small levels of contact to date ahead of a technical deadline of the end of this current financial year – next April.

But others feel it is progressing as quickly as it can, considering it involves a new approach to a longrunning set of challenges, and argue that the real deadline is not the end of the financial year.

A company called Bruton Knowles has been appointed as an independent property adviser to hold meetings with residents, assess values and work out suitable financial offers.

What is almost certain is that there is not enough money in the pot – the property acquisition for demolition project has been allocated £550,000 – to do what most people wanted and buy a small number of homes for somewhere near standard market value if they were in a no-risk location.

On the other hand, others suggest that some money is better than nothing, which looked likely not so many months ago.

Story by Ed Foss in the Eastern Daily Press

For Malcolm Kerby climate change is no distant threat to the Third World. He lives where it is already ruining lives… in Britain.

His home is in the small village of Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast where the shore is retreating, battered by increasingly ferocious rising seas.

“This is the front line of climate change in Britain,” he says. “We can’t deny it. It’s happening. We see it with our own eyes.”

Sea levels are predicted to rise by a minimum of 37cms by 2050.

Latest world predictions claim they will reach 1.4m by the end of the century if the present rate of warming continues.

The flat Norfolk coast would be swamped, the Broads would become seawater and Peterborough a coastal town.

But all that’s in the future. Happisburgh has already lost 26 homes in 17 years and several more are on the verge of tipping over the edge as long-term erosion of the soft-sediment coast speeds up.

But last night there was, finally, some hope as the the North Norfolk coast was awarded £5million by the Government to fight climate change erosion.

It will allow those about to lose their homes to the sea to receive compensation for the first time – and Malcolm was thrilled. He said: “It is quite simply the most important step ever taken in the management of our coastline.

“For the first time the coastal communities have a future.”

And North Norfolk Liberal democrat MP Norman Lamb, who has been closely involved in the campaign to get help said: “It’s a really massive breakthrough. It’s the first time ever the rights of people threatened by the sea have been acknowledged.

“It is a recognition that climate change is a threat. There will be many communities hit.”

Peter Frew from North Norfolk council said the money would be spent on 20 projects including demolishing homes teetering on cliffs and helping businesses. But despite the relief Malcolm warned: “We mustn’t be complacent. It’s only money until March 2011. We have still got problems.”

Happisburgh’s troubles began in the mid-90s when the sea defences built after the disastrous 1953 floods failed and were not replaced.

The cliff to the south of the village retreated a couple of hundred metres and a huge bay formed. Then in 2005 the village found it was official policy to “manage the coastline”.

That means defending towns, cities and strategic points but not spending millions defending smaller communities like the 850 in Happisburgh.

Coastal campaigners were furious that through all the talk of global climate change there was less action on those in the UK who faced losing everything with no statutory right to be protected from the sea. Malcolm says: “We had to make them understand this is not a Happisburgh problem. It is a national problem.”

Happisburgh formed the Coastal Concern Action Group and began fighting, recently creating the National Voice of Coastal Communities.

European-backed laws give more protection to sea cabbages and wildlife threatened by coastal erosion than people.

And it made Malcolm furious. He says: “I am sick to death of the Jesus creeper kaftan mob saying great crested newts, worms and things that fly have to come before human life and limb. If Flora and fauna is threatened Government has to find it a home. It could cost hundreds of millions to move a couple of newts or a sea cabbage. It beggars belief.”

The Environment Agency predicts it will spend £1billion a year by 2035 on coast and flood defences due to climate change.

A spokesman said: “We will defend communities where financially viable but you can’t build a wall round the whole UK.” Phil Dyke, National Trust Coast and Marine Advisor believes the sea could rise up to a metre over the next 100 years with more huge storms.

He added: “It may prove better in the long run for some communities to move and be supported by government.”

For Malcolm, though, the coast is something more. Some 16.9 million live in coastal areas with no one more than 75 miles from the sea. He says: “We are an island nation. It’s that coast and the people who live on it who have shaped us as a people.”

WILD CHANGES

The Met Office predicts the UK will start having hotter, drier summers along with warmer, wetter winters.

Central England has already increased by an average of 1C since the 70s.

And by the 2040s the record summer of 2003 will be the norm in Britain.

Here are some of the changes already happening…

• Nature The false widow, below, is the UK’s most venomous spider and has a painful bite. It’s spreading east from Devon and is likely to travel northwards. Plants, including daffodils and Hawthorn, are flowering several months earlier. New exotic wildlife, such as the Harlequin ladybird and olive trees, are also thriving.
• Health The 2003 heat wave caused 2,000 deaths and the NHS is expecting 5,000 extra cases of skin cancer by 2050. Warmer, wetter winters will see a rise in asthma but 20,000 fewer cold deaths.
• Travel By 2050 road and rail transport will be mostly carbon-free. The number of train users has doubled in 10 years, and is set to increase by half as much again over the next 30 years.

PERIL OF FLOODS

More than five million people in England and Wales live in properties at risk of flooding.

In Cumbria they are still mopping up after the worst deluge in the area for 1,000 years.

And November generally was the wettest on record with an average 8.5ins of rain across the country.

Get used to it, say climate change forecasters. We may not always get higher overall rain but localised storms causing flash floods will increase.

Mary Dhonau, of the National Flood Forum charity, said: “A monsoon type rain is now starting to hit the UK far more.

“The only way we can survive is to make our homes flood resilient.”

In 2007, 55,000 homes and 6,000 businesses were hit causing £3billion of damage. This led to 80,000 insurance claims.

Story by Mike Swain in the Mirror

A successful multi million pound bid to solve major coastal problems in Norfolk and Suffolk was hailed by experts and campaigners last night as the most important step ever taken in the management of the coast.

And as three local authorities – North Norfolk, Waveney and Great Yarmouth – celebrated winning nearly £5m out of a national pot of £11m to address a range of challenges, officials in charge of managing the coast said the money would help individuals about to lose their homes to erosion, the two counties as a whole and also build future policies for the rest of the country in the face of climate change.

A small number of people teetering on the very edges of some cliff tops, including in the now internationally known erosion hotspot of Happisburgh, were for the first time guaranteed payments for the loss of their homes where they had previously faced walking away with nothing.

But although those compensatory payments are set to grab many of the headlines, those behind the successful bids stressed this element was only one part of a wider policy-influencing mandate which the government has handed to Norfolk and Suffolk along with the money.

North Norfolk has been given £3m, Waveney £1.5m and Great Yarmouth £296,500. After North Norfolk and Waveney, the largest handout was East Riding, where £1.2m was made available.

The weighting of the North Norfolk bid has been interpreted as demonstrating how council officials, politicians and campaigners from the district have led the way in the battle against erosion, its impacts and the government’s attitude to the coast.

All 15 councils around the country which won money will now be referred to as ‘pathfinders’ and they will have 18 months to spend the money on a range of schemes, while feeding back the lessons they learn so government can look further into the future.

Last night, leading campaigner and the coordinator of the Happisburgh based Coastal Concern Action Group (CCAG), Malcolm Kerby said: “This is ground breaking. For the first time ever we have genuine recognition from central government that these problems exist.

“And for the first time the local authorities will be able to properly manage the coast and the consequences of change along that coast.

“It quite simply is the most important step ever taken in the management of our coastline.”

One of the homeowners set to be offered a financial package for her home where previously she thought she would lose everything is Di Wrightson, who lives on Beach Road in Happisburgh.

“After many years of anxiety and stress, watching the storm clouds gather and imagining the difficulties ahead, I suddenly feel as if I have stepped into sunlight,” she said.

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said: “This is an enormous achievement, something which we have collectively fought for in north Norfolk across many years.

“It is the first recognition that there is a need for social justice on this matter.

“The scale of this breakthrough cannot be underestimated, although it is by no means the end point.”

Peter Frew, head of coastal strategy at North Norfolk District Council, said: “I have been working here on the coast since 1992 and in terms of coast management this is the biggest thing that has happened in that time.”

Welcoming the smallest of the three bids, which will be spent on a project for the village of Scratby, Great Yarmouth MP Tony Wright said: “By taking part in this programme we can help to formulate effective future policy on this important issue.

“The £300,000 will test different approaches to adapt to coastal erosion and change, such as roll-back and business support programmes.”

A Defra spokesman said: “The pathfinders will road-test new and innovative approaches to planning for and managing change.”

The money will go towards a number of central themes, including:

Story by Ed Foss in the Eastern Daily Press

How the Yarmouth and Waveney areas could benefit

WAVENEY

The Waveney £1.5m will see work undertaken with communities at Corton and Easton Bavents to explore and deliver practical solutions to the impacts of Suffolk’s ever-changing coastline.

The bid is the second largest in the country after North Norfolk.

Council officials said work would commence immediately on exploring new ways of adapting to coastal change.

They added that, working in partnership with the two identified communities, the project would road-test innovative approaches to planning for and managing change.

Two projects will run at Corton. The first will look at developing the amenity level and accessibility of the beach and enhancing facilities, effectively handing the beach back to the community.

The second will see work commence with the people and businesses of Corton to find a long-term solution to the issue of coastal erosion and its impact on the village over the next 20 to 50 years. The aim is to ensure Corton continues to remain a secure and viable community.

Work at Easton Bavents will focus on long-term planning solutions for those living in vulnerable areas. It will approach the issue of coastal erosion from a planning perspective, looking at adapting policies, possible relocations and the impact on Easton Bavents and its surrounding communities.

Easton Bavents has become particularly well known because of the activities of resident Peter Boggis in building his own sea defences – and the legal complications which have arisen from those actions.

Ken Sale, Waveney District Council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “We are delighted that we have received funding for this important programme of work.

“Our communities are facing the reality of coastal change and we need to gain a greater understanding of the implications for the future.

“We hope that these projects and the learning we share with our pathfinder colleagues help us find strong, long-term solutions to this issue and help secure a prosperous future for those communities on the front line.”

GREATYARMOUTH

The borough council will receive almost £300,000 for a joint project in conjunction with the Scratby Coastal Erosion Group.

The success was welcomed by Great Yarmouth MP Tony Wright: “I am pleased that Great Yarmouth has been selected in conjunction with Scratby to participate in the pathfinder programme.

“I have always campaigned on behalf of those people affected by coastal erosion and by taking part in this programme we can help to formulate effective future policy on this important issue.

“The £300,000 will test different approaches to adapt to coastal erosion and change, such as roll-back and business support programmes, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Scratby Coastal Erosion Group and the borough council on this project.”

At last, ‘joined up’ coastal management

Life changed in Happisburgh yesterday.

The village – a calm, pretty outpost of Norfolk which has become an international icon in the battle to address the impacts of coastal erosion, climate change and an emerging Whitehall-driven policy of managed retreat – was abuzz, albeit rather gently, with the news that their local authority had been awarded £3m to tackle coastal challenges.

Part of that money – and this would have been a quite staggering concept just a few months ago – will be used to buy the half a dozen most at risk homes and allow people to walk away with far more than what they thought they would receive – which was, until yesterday, nothing.

Another chunk will be put towards a “buy and lease back” scheme for a group of slightly less at risk homes, again an idea which few people saw coming until very recently.

This is a community with strength of character, no little patience, a beautiful beach, an eye-catching sentinel church, charming candy- striped lighthouse and relatively small but charismatic businesses – a wet fish shop, pub, general store and caravan site.

But Happisburgh, along with other communities in Norfolk, Suffolk and around the country, has been blighted by the spectre of coastal erosion.

Not purely blighted by name, but also by a suffering property market. Houses still sell here, but often for less than they would if they were elsewhere, away from both the erosion itself and the perception of how serious that erosion is.

The hope is that the dual purchasing schemes, alongside other parts of the project such as helping businesses move backwards physically on to new land as the cliff crumbles before them and tidying up areas which have become eyesores because of erosion, will breathe new life into such communities as Happisburgh, restore confidence and allow the property market to find a new level.

That market level may never be the same as it would be for an inland village, but the key point is that it should allow a community which feels it was once led to believe it would have sea defences for perpetuity to spread the cost of losing those defences over more than one unfortunate generation – which for so long appeared to be the current one.

Clive Stockton, who holds the coastal portfolio at North Norfolk District Council as well as running the Hill House pub in Happisburgh, explained: “To date we have had an all or nothing situation, where we applied for government funding for coastal defences for an area or a community and if successful it was all well and good.

“But more and more there were cases of defences being turned down – and that was effectively the end of the story, with communities left to their own devices.

“This is all about addressing the consequences of not defending and coming up with mechanisms to deal with the reality people are left with if funding for defences is not forthcoming.

“This is the first time that has happened.

“With new options, a lot of the blight and the problems which come with not giving a community a future can be removed.

“This is not about backing away from building sea defences; it is about producing a management scheme where there are alternatives.”

The full public explanation of what this project is and how it will work in practice is going to take some time because it is both detailed and unprecedented, but steps are expected to be taken quickly and the emotional impact has been immediate.

Di Wrightson has become something of an accidental Happisburgh celebrity and not only because she used to run a thriving village tearoom. She lives in a pair of houses on Beach Road which will, quite probably within a few months, be demolished and a payment made under the pathfinder project so she can look forward to buying another home.

She said: “The Beach Road residents can now breathe a sigh of relief, but there is still a need for every coastal community to feel properly protected against the uncertainties of erosion and climate change.

“My personal response to this announcement is one of joy and elation that, after many years of anxiety and stress, watching the storm clouds gather and imagining the difficulties ahead, I suddenly feel as if I had stepped into sunlight.

“Please don’t pinch me – I might wake up and find it’s all a beautiful dream!”

Her near neighbour Jane Archer, a founder member of the Coastal Concern Action Group who was infamously told her home was worth £1 last year when applying to borrow against it, looks set to fall into the “buy and lease back” category.

“If this were to happen – and we really don’t know the detail yet – the value of the house would change from nothing to something,” she said.

“It’s just that we don’t know what that something is yet. And we also don’t know the terms of any lease back.

“But we now have some hope we will end up with something, where we previously did not.”

There are many unknowns at this stage. By no means is this a solution to a hugely complicated topic and these projects must be seen as they are: pilots designed to inform and educate.

The pessimist would point out that these purchases may be one-offs and the government may never agree to carry such a policy through to a fully fledged version.

The pessimist might also suggest this is a sop to calm a troublesome bunch of East Anglian campaigners in the short term. That would be a mistake on the part of government. There is now so much knowledge of this subject both in Happisburgh and at North Norfolk District Council’s headquarters in Cromer that it would be unwise to believe the problem will go away with no long-term attempts at a solution.

And it is vitally important to point out that this is not just about Happisburgh, but many other parts of north and west Norfolk, the village of Scratby near Great Yarmouth and also Waveney.

But Happisburgh, and particularly Beach Road, will undoubtedly retain the glare of the media spotlight and it will be fascinating to watch the next few months pass by.

A leading Norfolk coastal campaigner says the county’s cause has been helped through brief encounters with senior government and opposition ministers on successive days.

Today Malcolm Kerby had a fleeting meeting with Conservative shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert during the MP’s flying visit to Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex for a fact-finding tour about coastal defences.

And yesterday he had a 45-minute session with Defra environment minister Hugh Irranca-Davies in London, to discuss funding issues.

Mr Kerby is spokesman for the Coastal Concerns Action Group but has been a key player in national talks on coastal defence funding, blight issues and has led the forming of a new national group giving similar organisations around the country a single voice.

He was pleased to make his face known to Mr Herbert, whose helicopter trip took him from seeing erosion at Happisburgh to other parts of the region for an overview of beach recharges, man-made reefs and a scheme where landowners donated farmland later sold for housing to generate funds for sea defences.

Mr Kerby’s session with Mr Irranca-Davies was over funding for administering the new National Voice of Coastal Communities group, but he also raised north Norfolk’s bid for a share of an £11m pot of Pathfinder cash to help erosion-hit communities adjust and tackle the wider issues.

Mr Kerby said there was no decision yet but he left the meeting feeling “calmer” because of the minister’s demeanour.

But he stressed: “We are a-political and need to work with which ever party is in power.”

Story in the North Norfolk News

It is perhaps appropriate to recognise the extent and complexity of the possible problems facing the UK Government (irrespective of political persuasion) in managing the coast through what science is telling us may well be a significant and prolonged period of climate change. Of paramount importance will be our adopted Governance and how we manage our way through that period in the interests of all our people.

The coast is, of course, in the absolute front line of climate change where sea level rise and more unpredictable weather patterns could have a significant impact on communities within the coastal zone.

Read the full response to Defra’s Consultation on Coastal Change Policy by the Coastal Concern Action Group on the CCAG website.

North Norfolk District Council is answering the Government’s call for ‘pathfinder’ bids for a share of £11 million designated to help coastal communities adapt to coastal change.

NNDC has been at the forefront of lobbying and policy-making on coastal adaptation, through national working groups comprising national Government departments and agencies alongside local councils, and, as a result, the Government is developing a Coastal Change Policy for England — supported by the £11 million fund for innovative adaptation projects.

The Government is inviting ideas for its Coastal Change Policy until 11 September. The consultation is looking for ways that communities can be supported in the face of an eroding coast, if sea defences cannot be justified. This might include taking a different approach to development control, giving councils the power to buy at-risk properties and lease them back to residents, giving people practical help if they lose their homes, and maintaining infrastructure that is vital for businesses and householders.

The Coastal Change Policy consultation documents can be found on the government’s website: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/coastal-change/

NNDC is applying to be a ‘pathfinder’ council, building on its experience of coastal management and working closely with communities to plan for coastal change.

Pathfinder projects are expected to develop imaginative local solutions to issues such as loss of investment, loss of confidence, blight and environmental degradation which affect many of our coastal settlements to varying degrees. The Council will also continue to campaign for long-term solutions by responding to the consultation and demonstrating innovative schemes that can be repeated elsewhere.

Councillor Clive Stockton is NNDC’s Cabinet Member for Coastal Strategy, and also sits on the National Local Government Association’s Coastal Special Interest Group. He said: “This initiative represents a step change in Government policy towards coastal management, recognising for the first time the plight of coastal communities and their need for support in confronting the changes which they face.”

Councillor Stockton urged people to respond to the Government’s consultation paper, saying: “What happens to our coast, and to the communities on it, affects the livelihood of the whole District. We are working closely with the Coastal Concern Action Group in developing our projects and we are anxious to ensure that we have the support of coastal communities, and that our projects respond appropriately to local needs. We are also keen to find partners in delivering the projects should we be successful in getting funding.”

The Council’s response to the Coastal Change Policy consultation and its pathfinder bid will be considered by NNDC’s Cabinet on 7 September.

For more information about coastal adaptation in North Norfolk and NNDC’s pathfinder project ideas, contact Rob Young, Coastal Planner, on 01263 516162 or email coastalmanagement@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Coastal dwellers from across the country were among those who gathered in Happisburgh at the weekend to mark the 10th birthday of a leading lobby group and to thank the people of the Norfolk clifftop village for their years of support.

An evening meeting was held in St Mary’s church on Friday to formally celebrate the Coastal Concern Action Group’s decade of operation, followed by various events through the weekend. The actual date of the anniversary fell last month.

Speakers included local representatives such as Happisburgh tea shop and homeowner Di Wrightson, North Norfolk District Council’s coast protection engineer Brian Farrow, Happisburgh district councillor Clive Stockton and North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb.

But some of the most striking words came from those who had travelled to Norfolk from afar, including from Sussex and Kent, where communities have linked up with Happisburgh – in particular CCAG – for help and support in their battle with coastal erosion, rising sea levels, climate change and government inaction.

Brigitte Bass, from Romney Marsh in East Sussex, who is a member of the Defend Our Coast Association (DOC), said: “We have come along to show our unequivocal support for the people of Happisburgh and CCAG.

“They have been instrumental in helping us set up our own group – they set the framework for us and for many other communities.

“We simply could not have done what we needed to do for our own communities without CCAG.”

Roland O’Brien, from the Save Our Selsey campaign in West Sussex, said: “Being here is about showing support for each other and to express our thanks for the huge amounts of support we have had from Happisburgh and CCAG over the years,”

CCAG coordinator Malcolm Kerby said he was “deeply indebted” to those who had travelled to Norfolk for the weekend.

“It’s of great help to everyone in Happisburgh to hear first hand from other communities who have been catapulted into the same situation of potentially losing their homes with no social justice – it’s direct ore evidence that we not alone.”

Story in the Eastern Daily Press

After a welcome from Rev Philip Wood, Diana Wrightson, one of the members of the CCAG steering group, recapped the circumstances that led to a similar meeting held in St Mary’s Church ten years ago to discuss the issue of worsening coastal erosion of Happisburgh’s cliffs. Following that meeting CCAG was set up under the leadership of their Co-ordinator Malcolm Kerby.

Norman Lamb, the Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk then explained the political impact that CCAG had brought about through its policy of constructive dialogue rather than direct confrontation, and the scope of the influence that the group now received. He also summarised the current position that although there was currently no sign of change of a policy on defending the coast, there had been changes in attitude to the possibility of  ‘compensation’, and that the campaigning of CCAG had been a large factor in that change.

Brian Farrow, Coast Protection Engineer for North Norfolk District Council, recounted the ’sheer fear’ he felt when attending the public meeting ten years ago, but re-affirmed NNDC’s support for the community, within the financial and political constraints placed upon them, a view repeated by District Councillor and Happisburgh Publican Clive Stockton. Brian also spoke of  how increased understanding, trust and working together had changed things for the better. Vice Chairman of Happisburgh Parish Council Glenn Berry thanked CCAG for all their hard work on behalf of the Parish Council and the Village.

There were then three speeches by representatives of other campaign groups who had been helped and inspired by CCAG – Brigitte Bass from Jury’s Gap on the Sussex / Kent Border, Roland o’Brien from Selsey in West Sussex, and Chris Blunkell from Seasalter on the North Kent coast recounted their local situations, how they had been supported by Malcolm Kerby and CCAG. The benefits of collaboration with other groups was stressed, and all three gave their thanks to Malcolm and the CCAG for their support and assistance.

Jack Hall, former chairman of Coastal Concern Ltd which is the charity set up by villagers to raise funds for defences at Happisburgh, recounted the appeal in 2007 where at very short notice they were able to raise almost £50,000 in a few weeks to add extra rock to the work being carried out in Happisburgh by NNDC under emergency powers – this rock has since made a very real difference to the rate of erosion of the cliff. The success of the appeal was also a sign of the strength of support, not only from Happisburgh residents, but visitors, friends, and those from afar that have heard of the village’s plight.

Malcolm Kerby concluded proceedings by thanking all the speakers, and summarising what was happening in the next few months, including hopes that there would be an announcement from DEFRA in the summer regarding finaincial assitance for those affected by coastal erosion.