All 3 meetings were chaired by Malcolm Kerby of Coastal Concern Action Group in conjunction with Norman Lamb MP and were organised to give villagers the chance to voice their concerns following recent newspaper reports on Natural England plans to “abandon sea defences” in this area.

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These are the main, recurring points from the meetings, and the attendance at the meetings show the strength of feeling of the local communities.

The vast majority agree that the coast must be defended, social justice must be included in any plan & the local communities will fight for their rights in accordance with the Human Rights Act if necessary.

They will petition the Government for assurances that this area will be defended.

Download CCAG notes from public meetings, April 2008 (PDF)

The final of a trio of public meetings organised to discuss the threat of Broads flooding will be held tonight, but the number of people allowed in will be limited for safety reasons. The meeting will be a further chance for local people to talk about the potential impact of a Natural England document which says that 25 square miles of the northern Broads, an area which is home to six villages, could be allowed to flood in the coming decades in the face of climate change.

Read the full story by Ed Foss on the EDP website

Villagers vented their fury at the government during a packed public meeting held last night in one of the parish churches directly threatened by a proposal to abandon six Broads villages to the North Sea.

Around 400 people packed into St Mary’s Church in Hickling to decide how to react to possible plans revealed in the EDP at the end of last month which could see hundreds of homes, thousands of acres of farmland and some of the county’s top wildlife sites surrendered to the sea.

Read the full story by Ed Foss on the EDP Website