Holidaymakers visiting a part of Norfolk Broads which could be left to the power of the North Sea were yesterday warned about contentious plans to give up sea defences in the area.

Hundreds of trippers in Potter Heigham were stunned to be told about a scheme to surrender 25 square miles of the broads and six villages to flooding.

Read the full story by Anthony Carroll on the EDP website

Flooding minister Phil Woolas will visit Norfolk in July and come face to face with people threatened with losing their homes and businesses if proposals to abandon 25 square miles of the Broads go ahead.

Those behind the Norfolk end of the visit have already made it clear the event should not be confrontational, but part of a reasoned attempt to force the government quango Natural England into dropping a controversial report first revealed in the EDP in late March.

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He will attend a meeting in Lessingham village hall, where he has been invited to make a speech on climate change and its effects on north east Norfolk. He will then face a range of questions from various Norfolk representatives.

The event has been organised by a newly formed group called the North East Norfolk Coastal Parishes Group, which includes seven parishes and the Norfolk County Association of Parish and Town Councils.

Read the full story by Ed Foss on the EDP website

Serious failings have been identified in the emergency response to last year’s tidal surge when Norfolk came within a whisker of a flooding disaster and thousands of families around Yarmouth were evacuated from their homes.

A new report says the operation was beset with problems, including insufficient supplies of food at rest centres, lack of phone chargers in emergency planning rooms and a break in the chain of command among those tasked with dealing with the crisis.

Most areas survived by inches – though residents in Walcott in North Norfolk complained flood warning sirens were not used to alert people to the dangers.

Read the full story by Shaun Lowthorpe on the EDP website

The government agency behind controversial proposals to surrender a large area of Broads to the sea has been accused of “moving the goalposts” by altering its mission statement to downgrade the importance it places on people.

But Natural England denied changing its focus, claiming it had simply reverted to its original mission statement to ensure a consistent message.

Last week the statement on its website read: “Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas.” By yesterday that had been replaced by: “Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment, for its intrinsic value, the well-being and enjoyment of people and the economic prosperity that it brings.”

Read the full story by John Welch on the Eastern Daily Press website

Norfolk MPs pledged to fight on yesterday after failing to win reassurances or concessions from the government over the mooted surrendering of 25 square miles of the county to the sea.

Environment minister Phil Woolas promised to visit the threatened area between Eccles and Winterton.

But he glossed over an invitation by constituency MP Norman Lamb officially to remove the highly controversial “worst case” sea defences option put forward by Natural England.

And he stressed in the Commons that “it is not the government’s policy to give compensation for the impact of floods and coastal erosion”.

Mr Woolas added that there was an obligation to answer the question of whether compensation should be provided “if damage has been caused by climate change rather than the natural processes of erosion or flooding”. But he did not answer it himself.

Read the full story by Chris Fisher on the Eastern Daily Press website

It is an issue that has already generated hundreds of column inches, mobilised communities in opposition and prompted questions in the House.

Proposals to surrender 25sq miles of the Broads to the sea in response to the threat of climate change are continuing to cause controversy, nearly six weeks after the EDP first revealed they were under consideration.

The body behind the proposals is Natural England, the government’s conservation advisers, and leading the project is Dr David Viner, its principal specialist in climate-change evidence.

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“We weren’t looking at this from just a callous perspective. We were hoping – and it’s still planned – to talk to the local communities involved and explain that the Broads are going to change.

“The plans were to adapt the Broads area and weigh up the fact that change can happen quicker than we anticipate. Cost issues will come into it in terms of how we manage this,” said Dr Viner.

“I can totally understand the concerns of the local population and that’s something we’ve got to hold our hands up to and say: ‘Look, we’re very apologetic about that.’

“But I would emphasise relevant government agencies are committed to protect that area for the next 50 years and maintain the sea defences accordingly.”

Read the full article on the Eastern Daily Press website

The Bishop of Norwich has waded into the debate over plans to sacrifice 25 square miles of Norfolk land to the sea.

Speaking at the launch of a new inshore lifeboat for Sea Palling, he said the proposal by Natural England could leave coastal communities feeling “like prisons from which there is no escape”.

Addressing a packed church in Sea Palling today, where he had come to bless the village’s new lifeboat, the Rt Rev Graham James said vibrant communities with spirit, such as the coastal village, were crucial and should not be made to feel unimportant.

Read the full story by Dominic Chessum on the Eastern Daily Press website

Widespread anxiety over the future of the Broads will finally be discussed on the national stage next week when the Government will be urged to come clean about its flooding plans for the Norfolk coast.

Mid Norfolk MP Keith Simpson has secured a lengthy parliamentary debate next Tuesday to discuss controversial Natural England proposals which could see parts of the Broads sacrificed to the sea. And last night he urged other Norfolk MPs to attend in a bid to show cross party support and demonstrate a unanimous front against the possible plans.

Read the full article on the EDP website

Britain’s top soldier – who has spent a professional lifetime defending the realm – last night joined the battle to save huge swathes of Norfolk from being surrendered to the sea.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, who is a Norfolk farmer and president of the 2008 Royal Norfolk Show, said it would be a tragedy if plans to allow the sea to breach coastal defences between Horsey and Winterton, were allowed to go ahead.

Speaking exclusively to the EDP, Sir Richard said he was shocked to hear that the area around Horsey – one of his favourite locations in the county – was at the heart of proposals to allow the sea defences to be breached in a move that would see 25 sq miles of the Broads surrendered to the sea.

Sir Richard, who as Chief of the General Staff is the professional head of the British Army, said: “I think it would be a tragedy if we allowed that area to be given up and inundated.”

The General, who pointed out that he spent his professional life “defending UK interests” and by definition, potentially protecting UK territory, added: “I think to give up a great chunk of Norfolk to the sea without a fight is something I find quite counter-intuitive and quite difficult to do.

Read the full story on the EDP website

The government must continue to fund coastal defence projects to prevent the “completely unacceptable” loss of 25 square miles of the Broads to the sea. That is the plea from the Broads Society which said it was “extremely concerned” to learn of proposals being considered by government conservation advisers Natural England that, if adopted, would lead to thousands of acres of land, hundreds of homes and some of Norfolk’s top wildlife sites being surrendered to the sea.

Read the full story by on the EDP website

Read the press release on the Broads Society website