Communities were yesterday given the clearest indication yet by a government agency that they can build their own DIY sea and flood defences if no government money can be found to protect homes and land.

But the move was branded as “yet another cop out” in the management of the coast by a leading coastal campaigner.

The Environment Agency (EA) plans to stop maintaining defences around the Blyth estuary, near Southwold, over the next 20 years, which could leave thousands of acres of farmland, about 20 homes and the A12 Ipswich to Lowestoft road at increased risk of flooding. (more…)

In a blog posting, Anna Johansson discusses an interest in land and people’s relationship to the land, and in particular what’s happening on Norfolk’s eroding coastline:

I really like this: ‘oceans define borders but defy politics’ This makes me think about Britain’s eroding coastline. Certain parts of the coast especially in Norfolk is eroding faster than ever before. There are communities such as Happisburgh, Walcott, Mundesley that in the not so distant future might be completely swallowed up by the sea and wiped of the map. (more…)

She thought she had stumbled upon a piece of fascinating flotsam to use in a sculpture.

But when artist Belinda Opie had a chance meeting in her local with a fossil expert, she found out there was more to this humble-looking bit of beach debris than met the eye. For it is actually a 500,000-year-old mammoth tooth.

And its sudden reappearance near the cliffs at Happisburgh after half a million years has raised fears that creeping coastal erosion is washing many of the UK’s pre-historic fossils into the sea. (more…)

Tens of thousands of tonnes of sea defence rock will be shipped to Norfolk’s coast by barge in the run up to Christmas, while a sister operation pumps huge quantities of sand from the seabed to build up the beaches.

The multi-million pound project will beef up and repair both the soft and hard defences around Waxham, Horsey, Winterton, Sea Palling and Eccles as contractors Team Van Oord carry out the work on behalf of the Environment Agency. (more…)

Britain as an island nation is particularly susceptible to coastal erosion. Several communities in one part of Britain, along the north coast of Norfolk, have already seen their homes and businesses washed into the sea.

So can anything be done to combat the action of oceans? And what will the coastlines of world look like in 2050? For One Planet, Mark Whittaker reports.

Listen to the programme on the BBC World Service website

Thousands of homes along England’s coastline are under threat of destruction because of rising sea levels and poorly maintained defences.

Campaigners in Happisburgh, Norfolk - one of the villages at most immediate risk - are now demanding more help for their community.

When Di Wrightson bought her Happisburgh guest house in 1981 with business partner Jill Morris it seemed an idyllic place to live.

Visitors came from far and wide to enjoy the sea views and cream teas served in her garden.

But today Ms Wrightson’s home lies just metres from the cliff edge and will soon be lost all together. (more…)

In an opinion piece by Orrin H. Pilkey, James B. Duke professor of earth science, emeritus, in Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences on newsobserver.com, it’s pointed out that dealing with the impact of potential sea level rise is not limited to the UK:

In the United Kingdom, a highly visible societal debate is going on about how the nation will respond to sea level rise. Environment officials recognize that, from the standpoints of engineering feasibility and costs, the entire coast cannot possibly be defended. So the question boils down to what can be preserved in the rising sea level and what will have to be abandoned. (more…)

People faced with losing their homes to coastal erosion or flooding by the North Sea last night welcomed a breakthrough in their fight for financial compensation.

A senior government adviser, the new chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith of Finsbury, yesterday urged the government seriously to consider using taxpayers’ money to re-house those who lose out to the encroaching sea.

It is the first time anyone of such standing has responded to the pleas of homeowners not to be left empty-handed after the sea claims their homes. (more…)

Piece on Happisburgh from the forthcoming Britain from Above series on BBC

Van Oord has been awarded two projects on the east coast of England by the UK Environment Agency.

The first is the Happisburgh to Winterton Sea Defence Project which is worth approximately Euros 9 million. This is a continuation of work previously undertaken by Van Oord at this location. the new work will start in September 2008 and is scheduled for completion in December 2008. (more…)