Dorset among coastal areas at risk of losing homes worth almost £600 million by 2100
Sea levels are rising as global temperatures go up
A climate action group has warned the sea could claim almost £600 million worth of coastal homes in England by 2100 - including in Dorset.
There are 21 at-risk villages and hamlets according to One Home, which says rising temperatures will lead to an increase in sea levels and an increase in the size of waves hitting our coastline.
The group estimated how much coast could be lost over the next 100 years assuming that current local council and the Environment Agency policies on whether to defend, retreat or abandon sections of the coastline are followed.
The coastal communities identified by One Home that could lose the most homes are in Cornwall, Cumbria, East Yorkshire, Essex, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Northumberland, Norfolk, Sussex and Dorset - including Durlston Bay.
The value of property damages, on the land that could be hit by coastal erosion by 2100, was estimated at £584 million using average local authority values or site-specific values from Rightmove, One Home said.
The group has compiled a map highlighting what shoreline management plans are in place in different areas of coast, and what the level of protection is.
Why are homes by the sea at risk?
Angela Terry, chief executive of One Home, said:
“Sea levels are rising as global temperatures soar and so larger waves batter our coast during severe storms.
“These irreversible changes mean some cliff faces are crumbling fast.
“We can’t turn the tide or build a wall around the entire coast so we urgently need to help seaside communities to prepare for the damage that will come.
“Shoreline management plans are publicly available documents but most people are unaware of their existence.
“Many homeowners don’t know their properties are at risk or that decisions have been made about whether to protect them or not.
“SMPs are not statutory, so new developments can continue.
“Funding is not guaranteed so even where communities have been chosen to be saved, the money might not be there, giving people false hope that their home will be protected long-term.
“One Home’s aim with this map is to explain SMPs in an easy-to-digest way so that homeowners are sufficiently informed to make timely decisions about their properties to reduce future harm.
“Currently, for those homes at risk, there is no compensation scheme available.
“Owners might be asked to pay to demolish their homes while still paying their mortgage.”
More than a third of England’s coastline has a designation of “no active intervention”, One Home said, meaning that nothing will be done.
The other two levels of protection in SMPs are “hold the line”, meaning that defences will be maintained and upgraded if funding is found, and “managed realignment” which involves moving or allowing the shoreline to retreat in a managed way.