Coastal Erosion in Suffolk and Norfolk
Quote from local Cllr Peter Byatt:
“We’ve been warning about this for years. Without emergency funding to provide the required coastal armour, we face the very real prospect of losing homes as well as more of the caravan park - a vital part of our seaside economy. Local residents are crying out for action but the Government appears to be indifferent to their asks.”
Quote from Jess Asato, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Lowestoft:
“It is incredibly frustrating for residents to feel they have been left to the mercy of the waves, when funding has been set aside to protect communities like ours in Lowestoft. We’re begging the Government to put their nose to the grindstone, and provide the funding which could safeguard residents and the caravan park this Winter, as well as looking at the long-term protection which is required for this cliff.”
There have been issues with coastal erosion in Lowestoft for a number of years, but it was thought that the Pakefield area would be relatively safe at what seemed an acceptable rate of erosion.
However, since 2019 the rate of erosion has been faster than expected and in Autumn 2021 funding was sourced to provide temporary one-ton sandbag defences over the winter, for about 100 metres of cliff-base.
This was so that Coastal Partnership East could bid for funding for rock revetments, given a lead time of 9 months to source and install.
In December 2022, as a result of funding of £1.2 million from the Resilient Coasts Project, 80 metres of rock was installed at the foot of the cliff below the end of Arbor Lane.
This has helped, but during the past few months the beach and cliffs to the north and south of the rock have been drastically affected by constant erosion, from above by rain permeating the sandy cliffs, and by frequently high tides undermining the cliff-base. It is estimated that £10m is required to protect the south and north sides – immediately.
There are two issues relevant to the need for urgent further action:
Four properties – holiday homes – have had to be demolished since February 2022. The current cliff-edge is now less than 20 metres from Arbor Lane where it services several more permanent residences. If the end of Arbor Lane is lost, there will be no access to these properties. To the west of this row of properties are at least 15 more permanent residences.
To the south of Arbor Lane is a large Caravan Park, which has privately-owned caravans as well as a large number of caravans for holiday letting. The Park has already lost about 60 of their sites to past cliff- falls, and have recently applied successfully to expand to the south. However they need to remove another row of caravans immediately, due to the risk of cliff falls at present, which will further risk their business.
Erosion rates currently, not allowing for further unexpected events, suggest that about 30 residential homes are at risk, as well as the loss of a further significant part of the Pakefield Caravan Park .
The local community have been very active, forming the Pakefield Coastal Protection Group in 2020, which included local residents, Peter Aldous MP, District and Parish Councillors and Officers from Coastal Partnership East.
This has been a well-informed forum for discussion and communication with residents. At all stages it was made clear that funding would also be an issue, given criteria set by the UK Government.
The original Shoreline Management Plan for Suffolk from about 25 years ago recognised then that there were four options to coastal erosion:
No Active Intervention (NAI),
Advance the Line (ATL),
Hold the Line (HTL),
Managed Realignment (MR).
The current preferred option here is to ‘Hold the Line’. In the case of Pakefield Cliffs, from what has been seen of the success of the installed rock revetments, is that these should be extended to at the least to south of the boundary of the Caravan Park, and to the north of the steps to the beach at Arbor Lane.
Even this may need further extension if the sandy cliffs in this area are not to suffer further erosion. The HTL policy is clear that this frontage should be protected from erosion, but in reality there are caveats. If the local authority doesn't have the funding, then it can't proceed with defences. In some cases when funding is managed, it has proved to be too little too late to save residential properties and businesses. The suggested amount to carry out this further work for Pakefield could be in the region of more than £10 million.
There needs to be a long-term planned approach to this, as well as an immediate response. Residents and key local business are understandably concerned – the properties under a very real threat now are not holiday homes, many of these people have lived here all of their adult lives and have a strong attachment to their community.
The Caravan Park are prepared to discuss contributing to further defences – they bring significant benefits to the local economy, and contribute to making Lowestoft a tourist destination. There seems to be an inconsistency in support for those who are affected by erosion and if their property is unsalable for them to be able to move or if their property has to be demolished, there is little or no compensation from local authorities or central government for them to relocate, with devastating consequences.
The urgency of this situation cannot be emphasised enough, given how long it will take to get those in control of the purse strings how this cannot be delayed. Perhaps an urgent visit by the Minister would help, as well as seeking a full briefing from Officers at Coastal Partnership East – with some of the latest aerial photos of recent damage. He could also meet some of those affected and understand their very genuine concerns.