COASTAL campaigners were left hopeful for the future after a government minister saw first hand how erosion is eating into the region’s shores.

Richard Benyon, of Defra, paid a visit to Scratby, Winterton and Hopton among other spots while on his fact-finding mission to the Norfolk coast on Friday.

And while there, he heard from pressure groups about the ongoing fight to protect coastal communities in an era of government austerity.

Brian Hardisty is chairman of Hopton’s coastal erosion group and has fought against proposals to leave the area unprotected.

He was left reassured by the attitude of the new junior minister, who took note of his fears regarding the suggested impact of the outer harbour on Hopton beach, and said:

“He showed great interest, picked up on points and asked questions that showed he was developing an opinion.

“This minister appears to have a will to do something about Hopton beach and stop properties falling into the sea. His attitude seems to be stronger than we have seen and heard before.

“I got the feeling that if there was money on the table a solution could be found to Hopton’s beach and erosion problems.”

Mr Hardisty said that the next key decision would come when Great Yarmouth Borough Council considered the Shoreline Management Plan, which recommends no active intervention for the area.

Also heartened by meeting with Mr Benyon was Jim Bratton, secretary of the Scratby Coastal Erosion Group, who said that before the visit he and others were concerned about what stance the new government might take on the issue.

“We explained to him our situation and let him see for himself, and it seems that the government is taking it seriously. We hope to work with them.”

Currently the Environment Agency are looking at proposals to extend the rock berm project from the cliffs at California a further kilometre to Scratby.

Now set to be joint chairman of an all party group on coastal erosion, Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis was also present on the day.

Mr Lewis said that it was important the minister “got to see it with his own eyes” before adding: “We’re about to go into a spending review and we will have to make savings. We definately have to make the case that, in terms of coastal erosion, the savings to be made are on the bureaucracy surrounding the issue.”

Story in the Great Yarmouth Mercury

SEASIDE communities dotted along the borough’s coast need to stand together to have any chance of getting government to pay for sea defences or compensation for those who lose their homes if they don’t.

The call came from Malcolm Kerby of Happisburgh who is fighting for social justice on a national stage, on Thursday in Ormesby St Margaret.

The campaigner, widely regarded as the most knowledgeable person outside Government on coastal erosion, was in the village urging people to sensibly object to the emerging second draft of the Shoreline Management Plan.

Widely criticised, the document sets out the Government’s policy on coastal erosion which campaigners say takes no account of the human and social costs, and – since those living near rivers get a better deal – discriminates against people who live by the sea.

Around 70 people who packed the village centre were told that accepting the SMP would mean tumbling property values for those on the front line – and for others up to two miles inland – affecting everyone with the NR29 postcode.

But they were told to be reasonable in their total opposition and to foster “togetherness” rather than lobbing grenades at each other and taking up positions.

Chris Hogg, chairman of Scratby Coastal Erosion Group (SCEG) said the SMP was a flawed document that was technical and nothing to do with management. He said the shift in policy from hold the line to no active intervention at Scratby would scupper the rock berm project, spelling disaster for tourism, the dunes and amenities.

He said: “They say they did listen and there were certain changes made. However I have read it three or four times and there are statements there that are meant to make us feel better. But they are littered with ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’. It is aspirational rather than definitive.”

Mr Kerby, chairman of the National Voice of Coastal Communities, said: “There is no going alone. We have to stand together. I do not believe there is any way our elected representatives can accept this on our behalf. But it’s not a question of having a blazing row and pointing the finger – just make it very clear that not in my name will you accept the Shoreline Management Plan. There is a huge cost to doing nothing and we need to encourage them along that route.”

Also present was Peter Boggis from Eastern Bavents near Southwold in Suffolk who has had an ongoing battle with the authorities to be allowed to protect his own section of coastline at his own expense.

A show of hands were unanimous in requesting SCEG to write to the relevant authorities urging them not to accept the Shoreline Management Plan without provision for social justice and a change from ‘no active intervention’ to ‘hold the line’.

The group has received 20 comment forms protesting about the SMP which will be forwarded to Coastal Management in North Norfolk. No representatives from Great Yarmouth Borough Council were present although a message of support was received from councillor Charles Reynolds. Lewis Roberts, case worker for MP Brandon Lewis was present as was Tony Wright who pledged his continuing support. The document will be re-presented to Great Yarmouth Borough Council in October.

Story in the Great Yarmouth Mercury

ANOTHER coastal community is rallying people to loudly oppose a high-level policy which they say threatens seaside homes and businesses.

Campaigners in Scratby this week joined those in Hopton in saying they had no intention of facing the future without a battle and have organised a public meeting in a bid to get more people voicing their concerns over the Shoreline Management Plan which is emerging from its final review.

According to some predictions more than 150 homes and businesses could be lost to erosion in the popular holiday village over the next 100 years, although a crucial funding decision on a £5m rock berm is in Government hands and officials -having spent around £200,000 working up the scheme – are hoping for a positive response.

Hopton was due to debate the issue last night after hundreds of homes were leafleted.

Chris Hogg, chairman of Scratby Coastal Erosion group, said consultation on the 2008 revision of the SMP was drawing to a close and without action could be accepted by the borough council by the end of the year.

“The meeting is very important. It is our last chance. Basically the SMP has come back and it’s virtually unchanged since the previous one. Where do you stop? Could we end up losing Ormesby?” He is also concerned about compensation.

Borough council regeneration officer Tim Howard, said: “The Shoreline Management Plan is the culmination of several years determining the best way to deal with coastal change.

“The plan provides for a series of actions ranging from full defence to no active intervention. For some parts of the coast a policy of managed retreat has been adopted. This will keep existing defences maintained for a designated period in order to allow for communities to adjust to the realignment of the coastline.

“The SMP is a draft document and comments are welcome from members of the public via the North Norfolk District Council website and any other mediums. Following this process the SMP for this region will be considered as part of a national coastal management strategy.”

Recent consultation has mostly focussed on the Strategic Environmental Assessment – a document within the SMP. Mr Howard said the SMP drew on scientific analysis and financial reality. The partnership group lead by North Norfolk District Council aimed to adopt the policy by October.

Mr Howard said the council did not have anything like enough resources to deal with erosion but that it was committed to the rock berm as part of the intention to manage the retreat, although it would not last forever.

The meeting is on Thursday June 24 at 7.30pm at the Village Centre, Station Road, Ormesby St Margaret.

The main speaker will be Malcolm Kerby, Chairman of the National Voice of Coastal Communities and the Coastal Concern Action Group.

Story on the Advertiser 24 website

COASTAL erosion campaigners were left with mixed feelings following the visit of a high-powered government official to hear their concerns and ideas.

Minister for marine and natural environment Huw Irranca-Davies MP dropped in at various sites along the Norfolk coast to find out more about plans to defend the shoreline from an encroaching sea.

One of the areas visited was Hopton, to which he had been specifically invited by Tony Wright MP.

Here, he heard first hand about the fierce debate surrounding a report released by the borough council last week saying that the outer harbour was not to blame for Hopton’s rapidly-dwindling beaches, as well as erosion-fighting suggestions such as the creation of an artificial reef.

Brian Hardisty, chairman of the Hopton coastal action group was among those voicing concerns to the minister and was reassured that Mr Irranca-Davies had promised to do what he could for the area.

He said: “I was satisfied with him coming and in terms of the reception we got we couldn’t hoped for any better. He could be the man who can do something for us if they still are in power after the next election.”

However, fellow member of the erosion group and master mariner Barry Collingwood said that though the visit was positive in that it had brought the issue to wider public attention, nothing concrete had emerged from it.

Also urging action sooner rather than later was prominent business man Brian Potter, whose leisure resort overlooks the sea. He said:

“It’s very good that the minister came to see the problems we’re facing since the outer harbour was built but whether or not in the due course of time something will be done remains to be seen.

Something does need to be done because if it’s not then the ground that we’re standing on could be gone.”

As part of his visit Mr Irranca-Davies also visited Scratby, where he discussed the Pathfinder project for which the borough council has been awarded nearly £300,000.

The money, which comes from a national pot, is designed to encourage new approaches to the problem of coastal erosion specifically in that area.

Mr Irranca-Davies emphasised the importance of including the community in the process, and of considering ‘soft’ defences like buy-to let schemes.

He said: “It’s one thing to look at maps but it’s another to come out and meet the people involved. This is about making sure we have as many tools in the toolbox as possible to deal with this situation.”

The minister also reassured the Scratby coastal erosion group that their efforts to extend the rock berm defences by 1km from California would not be compromised by the Pathfinder project.

These reassurances follow the announcement in January by borough council coastal manager Bernard Harris that he was confident that the £3.1m berm defences, which would protect hundred of homes, were likely to become a reality.

Jim Bratton, secretary for the Scratby coastal erosion group said: “We’re always very pleased to see senior government ministers showing an interest and it gives us hope for the future.”

Story by John Owens in the Great Yarmouth Mercury

THE Tory shadow minister for health has pledged to support Scratby residents in their fight to save their homes from being swamped by the sea.

MP Mark Simmonds said during a visit to the village he wanted to end the uncertainty villagers were experiencing over whether sea defences protecting Scratby were going to be bolstered.

During his trip to Norfolk, the MP for Boston and Skegness met Lyndon Bevan and Jack Bensley, from Hemsby and Scratby Coastal Erosion Group, as well as Brandon Lewis, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Yarmouth.

His whistlestop tour was to learn more about the situation the residents found themselves in so he could feed these into Conservative policy in the run-in to the next general election.

Mr Simmonds, part of the Tory team looking at coastal defence, was concerned current coastal defence strategies such as the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) were focused more on defending the more populated areas and did not consider other factors such as the impact on tourism.

He said: “I think the government needs to understand and take into consideration all of the factors that are relevant to making the decision to invest money. It is not just about where the majority of people live, although that is important, but we have to also take into consideration the impact on business and tourism.

“We have to take into consideration the value of the properties as well as in some circumstances the effect on the agricultural industry.”

He said his constituency was facing similar problems with coastal erosion, but that as yet the Tory party did not have a strategy and was in the process of developing their policy on coastal towns, which will also consider their transport and infrastructure and levels of benefit dependency.

But he said any decision on levels of funding would have to factor in the uncertain economic climate and the levels of revenue available to the government if the Tories were to win the next general election. These issues, he said, should be included in the process of drawing up the SMP.

“I think that we have seen the very close proximity of people’s houses to the shoreline. It has been demonstrated to me the amount of erosion that has happened and the real and understandable feeling of concern that people who live here are in a state of limbo.”

Mr Lewis said the main short-term priority was to get funding to extend the rock berm all the way along the beach to provide protection for all the 150 properties threatened by the sea in the long term.

Up to 22 family homes could be threatened within the next two or three years.

Story in the Great Yarmouth Mercury

A GOVERNMENT minister has reassured villagers living on the coast they will not lose their homes, even though a government body has put forward a plan to allow the sea inland.

Instead, Floods Minister Phil Woolas said the government had called on the Environment Agency to provide a report on how the coastline can be protected from erosion over the next 100 years.

He also pledged £100m of government funding would be spent on bolstering defences over the next 50 years during a visit to some of the threatened villages where he met parish councillors and residents faced with the prospect of losing their homes under a Natural England option.

One of the options it has put forward is to allow a 25 square mile area and six villages to be swallowed by the sea over the next 50 years.

But Mr Woolas said: “I think that because of the circumstances locally, people have been unduly worried and I have come today to allay their fears and to say the government is not going to allow this area to be flooded.”

During his whistlestop tour on Monday, arranged with the area’s MPs Norman Lamb and Tony Wright, he visited some of the beleaguered villages, including Sea Palling, Hickling, Somerton and Scratby.

At Sea Palling, Steve Hayman, senior engineer at the Environment Agency, told him although the reefs that protect the area were fine acting as breakwaters, further erosion could happen with more storm surges.

Mr Hayman said the sea was “gradually migrating landwards” and without the sea wall the situation would be worse.

He added that for reasons of cost effectiveness and environmental concerns the decision had been taken to maintain the groynes protecting the coastline rather than the reef.

Mr Lamb invited the minister to meet villagers following a debate on protecting the UK coastline in the Houses of Parliament two months ago, discussing the situation privately after the debate.

He emphasised the importance of getting social justice for the threatened homeowners, which could involve compensating them to the market value of their homes before the value decreased because of the coastal erosion threat.

Mr Lamb was also concerned about Natural England’s plans which could result in Sea Palling, Horsey, Hickling, Potter Heigham, Waxham and Eccles.

And the strength of feeling about Natural England’s plans was displayed when petitions with 15,000 signatures were handed over to Mr Lamb.

Richard Starling, chairman of Somerton Parish Council, discussed the furore over the Natural England proposal with Mr Woolas.

He said: “Our local parish councillors were pleased to welcome the minister on his visit to us. We were pleased with his reassurance both to us and the media, which we hope will get the message across, that the area does not suffer a long-term blight as a consequence of the draft Natural England report.”

Jim Bratton, chairman of Scratby Coastal Erosion Group, said: “It was a very worthwhile visit and the minister showed great interest in the problems we are facing.”

Coastal erosion is threatening 22 family homes in Scratby within the next two to three years and 150 in total in the longer term.

Mr Wright said: “I wanted Phil down here in person so he could meet and discuss these pertinent issues with local residents face-to-face. We had a lot to discuss and there is a lot for Phil to take back and digest. I will be requesting a follow-up meeting to ensure the issues we face in Great Yarmouth remain in the spotlight.”

Robert Stephenson of the Scratby Coastal Erosion Group, said it was a great opportunity to discuss the situation at the highest level,

and he was hopeful that on-going talks between all parties would make further progress to secure the future of the community.

In the meantime the group is in discussion with the borough council regarding the project preparation for a rock berm extension from California to Newport. Once this work has been carried out it will enable backers to press ahead to seek financial approval from the government.

Eric Lindo, chairman of the Happing Partnership and Hickling Parish Council, presented the 1250 signature Happing Flood Defences Petition against the proposals when the north Norfolk MP visited Hickling with Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg last week.

Further petitions against Option 4 were presented by the Coastal Action Group, the Lib Dems and the Save Our Broads coalition.

These campaign groups have been calling for money to be spent bolstering the sea wall between Eccles and Winterton to provide an effective barrier rather than allowing the 25 square miles to be flooded.

A call was also made for ongoing flood defences to protect both the coastline and river system.

Story by Dominic Bareham in the Great Yarmouth Mercury

Jim Bratton of Scratby’s coastal erosion group said Great Yarmouth MP Tony Wright had put the case for his stretch of coastline well at a commons debate broadcast live on Tuesday.

Mr Wright was one of a group of MPs who pledged to fight on 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 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”.

Although Mr Bratton was disappointed by Mr Woolas’s “unsympathetic” response he was heartened by the debate which took local concerns to the highest level, adding “Mr Woolas can now be in no doubt about the widespread strength of feeling gathering pace.”

He said: “Tony put his point across very well about the flooding in Great Yarmouth and the erosion at Scratby. Afterall he has a coastline to worry about too although the emphasis has been on the whole of Norfolk. It was an opportunity for our area to be highlighted as well. With all but one of the Norfolk MPs saying the same thing it has to be a step forward because everyone is together.

“It’s a whole chunk of England standing together all speaking up and saying the same thing – we cannot let Norfolk go.”

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.

Figures released to the Countryside Alliance under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that at least 14,434 new homes in the East are planned for construction on flood plains or in flood risk areas.

Forty local authorities in the East responded to the Freedom of Information request. A total of 293,542 new homes are planned of which 14,434 are in flood risk areas. The research followed the Government’s admission, last year, that it “does not collect centrally the number of houses planned for construction on flood plains”.

A spokesman said: “Climate change and the increasing frequency of major flooding have led the Government to address the risk of flooding for new development through the planning process. This does not, however, address the legacy of development proposed before the new policy.

“The Government needs to carry out a full audit of housing proposed for flood risk areas. The alternative is a time-bomb of thousands of un-insurable homes in the East under constant risk of flooding.”