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Discover the effects of coastal recession on people and the environment, focusing on Happisburgh, UK. Learn about the village's erosion challenges, property losses, and government response. Explore the cost-effective measures taken to combat erosion.
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Coastal Recession What affect does this have on people and the environment?
What is coastal recession? • Coastal recession is having an effect on the coastline of the UK. • The amount of effect is determined by the land use. • If the area suffering from cliff recession is used for settlement, the effect is greater than if the cliff recession is affecting farmland, which is seen to be less important as it is not worth as much money. • The effects of coastal recession can be seen all around the coast of the UK.
What’s happening at Happisburgh? • One village under threat from this policy is the village of Happisburgh which has a population of approximately 850. • It is one of the fastest eroding areas in the world. • The area was defended in 1958 with revetments which reduced the amount of erosion to about 50 cm a year. • In 1995 the council stopped repairing the coastal defences which caused the rate of erosion to accelerate. • Since this time, 25 properties and the village’s lifeboat launching station have been washed away.
What’s happening at Happisburgh? • The main area of concern is Beach Road which terminates in the sea. • The houses were worth £80,000 when the coast was defended but are now valued at £1, even though their sea view improves each year.
What’s happening at Happisburgh? • The government has refused to protect Happisburgh because it is not cost effective. • In other words, the village is less valuable than the cost of the defences to protect it even though it contains 18 listed buildings including a Grade 1 listed church which is only 60 m from the cliff and estimated to be in the sea by 2020. • The cost of sea defences is approximately £4 million for 500m.
What’s happening at Happisburgh? • However, the district council did defend the area in 2007 with 5,000 tonnes of granite rip-rap at a cost of £200,000; the local villagers raised a further £40,000 on a website which bought another 1,000 tonnes of rock. • This is slowing down the rate of erosion but there is no hope for the residents of Beach Road whose homes will soon be in the sea.
