The final resident living on the crumbling seafront of a Norfolk village has said she will remain defiant despite her last set of neighbours moving out.

Bryony Nierop-Reading, whose house perches just metres from the cliff edge on Beach Road, Happisburgh, said she would stay until given no other option.

The 65-year-old turned down compensation to move inland last year.

“It’s more powerful to argue for something if you are on the spot,” said Mrs Nierop-Reading.

“Also it’s nearly everybody’s dream to live by the sea.” (more…)

Homeowners in Happisburgh whose houses are perched on the cliff-top and at risk of falling into the sea because of coastal erosion have started the process of moving out and moving on.

In Happisburgh work has been taking place as part of North Norfolk District Council’s Coastal Pathfinder project with the striking of deal to compensate those whose homes are perched on the edge of Happisburgh’s crumbling cliff in Beach Road.

The council was awarded £3m in 2009 from the government’s pathfinder programme, which ends this autumn, to explore ways of helping coastal communities plan and adapt to coastal change.

And now the homeowners who have accepted deals, are starting to move out from the village. (more…)

People living in homes along Norfolk’s coast under threat of destruction have been offered compensation.

It follows talks between North Norfolk District Council and owners of the homes in Beach Road, Happisburgh.

The money will come from the Pathfinder scheme, to help communities and compensate households. (more…)

Householders whose doomed homes are perched on the edge of Happisburgh’s crumbling cliff have finally struck sales deals and can start new lives elsewhere – ending more than a decade of uncertainty.

Demolition could begin in May on most of the at-risk homes along Beach Road and North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) chiefs say that by the summer Happisburgh will have a new look and facilities to welcome visitors.

Leading campaigner Malcolm Kerby said the agreements, revealed in an NNDC report today, represented a fresh beginning for Happisburgh which would have “knock-on benefits all round.” (more…)

Erosion-threatened clifftop residents demanded “social justice” after a Norfolk council agreed a possible compensation deal that they branded “insulting”.

North Norfolk District Council agreed a plan to buy 10 homes in most danger on Beach Road at Happisburgh for demolition and offer the homeowners 40-50pc of the value of their homes if they were inland and not at risk from coastal erosion.

Councillors said it was “the best we can do” and pledged to “continue to lobby and campaign” for a better deal.

But angry campaigners called on the council to give them nothing less than 100pc to enable them to “move on” and rebuild their blighted lives. (more…)

Residents of a row of doomed clifftop homes in north Norfolk are still waiting to get firm compensation offers for their erosion-threatened properties.

A package of help through a government-backed scheme has been deferred over concerns the likely compensation figures of 40-50pc of the theoretical value will not offer enough to the affected people.

But while the local council says it is doing what it can within strict constraints, campaigners are calling for the deal to be the best possible – because it sets a precedent for other coastal communities in Norfolk and across the nation. (more…)

Campaigners pushing for compensation to be given to owners of clifftop homes at Happisburgh have said that the amount being offered under new proposals is still nowhere near enough – despite the plans being given a green light at a council meeting.

The plans to buy 10 properties most in danger on Beach Road at Happisburgh for demolition and offer the homeowners between 40pc and 50pc of the theoretical value of their homes if they were inland and not at any risk from coastal erosion, were approved by North Norfolk District Council’s cabinet on Monday.

But the decision has angered campaigners, who say nothing less than 100pc should be offered. (more…)

On the face of it, any cash offer for homes which were once considered to be worth close to nothing because they are at imminent risk from coastal erosion must be a bonus. But here leading coastal campaigner MALCOLM KERBY explains why he feels the 40pc to 50pc of market value offer likely for a set of homeowners in Happisburgh, reported on the EDP’s front page on Saturday, is simply not up to scratch.

“At the level quoted, which is 40pc to 50pc of no-risk market value, people will not be able to move on uninjured.

It is clear that something is better than nothing and perhaps many people will misunderstand what appear to be negative comments on the matter from me.
(more…)

Owners of clifftop homes at Happisburgh are just weeks away from receiving precedent setting cash offers for their threatened properties, potentially bringing a lengthy compensation saga to an end.

North Norfolk District Council has put forward a plan to offer a dozen homeowners between 40pc and 50pc of the theoretical value of their homes if they were inland and not at any risk from coastal erosion.

Council leaders said yesterday the offer was “a very important breakthrough” which was both sustainable and reliable – and could have impacts nationally if the model was adopted at government level.

People losing their homes to coastal erosion have previously faced a future with no compensation for the loss. (more…)

Adapting to climate change needs to become as much of a priority as cutting emissions, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee argue in a report out today.  Climate projections show that Britain can expect wetter winters, drier summers and a higher likelihood of flash-floods, heat waves and droughts.  The report concludes that Government must do more to raise awareness of the need to prepare for a changing climate.

Tim Yeo, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee said:

“For a long time the climate change debate has focused on reducing carbon emissions, but adapting to the inevitable impacts of rising global temperatures is equally critical.

“Even if all the world’s power stations were switched off tomorrow past emissions mean that some climate change will still take place and we will face more floods, droughts and heat waves.

“We must act now to protect people, property and prosperity and safeguard the natural environment. Delay will only impose greater costs on future generations.

“The Government must be imaginative and establish new and sustainable sources of funding and support for adaptation.” (more…)