“We won't give up” says Suffolk seaside community watching their homes disappear
Erosion in Thorpeness has meant residents have had to vacate their homes and others are at risk
On the Suffolk coast, in the village of Thorpeness, the line between land and sea is blurring faster than anyone expected. The recent bad weather has sped up the erosion, with gardens falling away overnight and residents having to leave their homes before they're demolished.
For residents like Sophie Marple, the past few months have felt like watching a slow-motion disaster.
“It’s devastating, you know, it really is,” she said. “I sat in Lucy’s house today, and it just felt such a waste that this house is going to get demolished. It’s a beautiful house. It won’t exist in a few weeks’ time.”
"We can’t believe it’s happening so fast."
Sophie explained that only a few weeks ago, residents had felt cautiously optimistic. A village meeting had filled the local country club with over 200 people, including East Suffolk council members, all determined to find a solution, but with the rapid progress, their options have become more limited. More on this can be read here.
But now, Sophie said that the council is unable to do much to help them.
“Since the meeting in August, we all felt a bit more positive; the village was beginning to wake up to this (problem),” she said. “But now the council are saying they’ve got no tools in their toolbox to help us. Even they said, ‘we were not prepared for what’s happened. We can’t believe it’s happening so fast. Maybe we’ve hit a tipping point.’”
The limits of protection
The reality facing Thorpeness is one shaped by national policy. The village sits in an area designated for “managed realignment” under the government’s Shoreline Management Plan, a strategy that allows the coast to retreat naturally rather than holding it back with hard sea defences.
“It means we shouldn’t be putting hard defences in, but it’s supposed to retreat slowly, not at speed,” Marple explained. “They’ve (East Suffolk Council) got no money to help us. They’re not in a position to pay for it.”
Sophie said that previous attempts to gain planning permission for new rock defences have stalled. Even where residents have tried to act quickly, bureaucracy and funding constraints have slowed progress.
“They told us to put in the application, and then they wouldn’t support it,” Marple said. “Subsequent erosion had overtaken what they’d agreed should be put in. It could go no further.”
“It’s horrifying”
For those whose homes sit closest to the edge, the change has been brutal. 88-year-old Jean Flick's house is set to be demolished after the cliff got too close.
Sophie told us she was shocked it had gotten to this point.
“When I was told Jean was moving out, I thought, goodness, that seems quite early,” Marple said. “And then when I came down and saw it, my goodness, it’s right up to the patio. They’re now worried they won’t be able to demolish the house at all because it will become unsafe.”
Jean has now moved in with her daughter across the road, but even that house may not be safe for long.
"We never actually thought it would happen. We've sat in denial for quite a long time because you just don't think it would happen. Looking over that fence into Jean's garden is just, it's horrifying. It is horrifying. The fact that in the summer, at the beginning of August, I was standing in her garden, and now large parts of it are gone".
A community refusing to give up
Despite the devastation, the people of Thorpeness aren’t ready to surrender to the sea.
“We’re going to be building a campaign for sure,” Marple said. “We need to keep up the pressure. Otherwise, if you don’t keep in the minds of the council, we’ll just disappear.”
Plans are already forming for a crowdfunding campaign to fund independent research and expert advice. For Marple, this is about more than property; it’s about the survival of a village, and it's history.
“We’re not giving up hope, that’s for sure,” she said. “We are falling like dominoes down that road, but we’re not giving up. There’s a lot more to the village than North End, and we need to all come together and fight this.”
Council response
East Suffolk Council tells us it's been monitoring the northern end of Thorpeness regularly – following significant recent erosion – and is 'working closely with residents so that they are aware of and understand their erosion risk.'
It says the demolition of a property in the area this week was 'due to critical safety levels being reached.'
Demolition was carried out in a private arrangement between the property owner and demolition company. East Suffolk Council is forward funding the costs of demolition and will aim to reclaim costs via an Environment Agency grant.
Cllr Mark Packard, East Suffolk’s cabinet member for Planning and Coastal Management said: “Losing a home to coastal erosion is extremely distressing. East Suffolk Council has worked closely with the owner of this property over recent months to ensure they were fully aware of the situation and have had time to remove their belongings and arrange the demolition of their property in a planned, safe and dignified manner. We would request that people respect the owner’s privacy at this difficult time.”
A council spokesperson added that, as part of its Resilient Coasts project, it will work with the wider community to plan for the long-term future of the village, 'while continuing to support residents affected by the recent erosion.'