Hemsby residents 'feel abandoned' after sea defence funding changes missing from Autumn Budget
Labour said they would change the formula for funding coastal defence programmes in their election manifesto
A campaigner in Hemsby, a Norfolk village battered by coastal erosion, says they feel abandoned after Autumn budget didn't give clarity how affected communities will be supported.
In the General Election Campaign, Labour said they would change the formula for funding coastal defence programmes, to help protect places like Hemsby but it wasn't mentioned by Rachel Reeves in her speech yesterday.
"Provide some clarity and certainty around when this review is going to start"
Simon Measures lives on the village's seafront road 'The Marrams' and is chair of the local action group, 'Save Hemsby Coastline': "We've always that you only truly lose when you give up, and that's why we're not going to do that.
"It's sad to see that local decision-makers have moved to a position of resilience.
"That's defined as the 'recovery from a disaster'.
"We'd prefer just to not have the disaster first.
"We've recently written to the Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, asking him to just provide some clarity and certainty around when a review is going to start."
What did Labour's 2024 manifesto say on this?
Preparing for the future not only means tackling the climate and nature emergencies, but also adapting to the changes they will bring to our environment.
Without action, flooding and coastal erosion will pose greater risks to lives, livelihoods and people’s wellbeing.
The Conservatives’ poor risk management, and a disjointed approach across government and regulators have left Britain badly exposed.
Labour will improve resilience and preparation across central government, local authorities, local communities, and emergency services.
This includes formally working with all stakeholders in the Fire and Rescue services to inform policy and establish national standards.