Grandmother faces losing second home in five years to coastal erosion
Bryony Nierop-Reading, 78, was forced to leave her three-bedroom property in December 2013 after a third of it toppled onto the beach below.
A grandmother who already saw one clifftop home fall into the sea due to coastal erosion now faces losing another to the same thing.
Bryony Nierop-Reading, 78, was forced to leave her three-bedroom property in December 2013 after a third of it toppled onto the beach below. She moved into a caravan and then a semi-detached home further inland at Happisburgh, Norfolk, in 2017.
But now she fears she has just months left in her three-bedroom house as once again her home is being threatened by coastal erosion, with cliffs that are just 80ft (25m) away. Aerial photographs taken over the last 25 years show the dramatic rate of coastal erosion in the area.
Nierop-Reading said: "I’m absolutely terrified now. I look out of my bathroom window every morning and see the cliff edge closing in. It’s not that I didn’t expect it to happen one day, but I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly.
"This makes me feel very, very angry about our government who will not protect our coastline."
The 78-year-old also owns land near Happisburgh Community Car Park - which are both at risk of also falling into the sea. She said she had left it in her will to her grandchildren but fears there will be nothing left for them.
Nierop-Reading bought the 1930s property in Happisburgh for £25,000 in 2009. At the time, it was around 20ft (6m) from the cliff edge but just four years later, was hanging over the edge of the cliff, meaning parts of it had to be destroyed.
But instead of moving away from the coast, she chose to live in her new property despite knowing the same thing could potentially happen again. She feared if she moved inland, she would 'stop campaigning to save the coast line', electing to continue battling for authorities to do something to save buildings threatened by coastal erosion.
Campaigning to save the coast line
She is also campaigning to save numerous old buildings in her village that are also at risk of falling into the sea. She said: "I've noticed that the further inland people live, the less concerned they are about coastal erosion. I would afraid that if I moved inland, then I would stop campaigning to save our coast line.
"I bought the house even though it's right on the edge and it's now in danger again but it does concentrate my mind when I see the cliff getting closer and closer. People's houses can be moved but historical artefacts cannot be moved.
"If we don't do something about the coastline, then we will lose the lighthouse, church and the pub."
What is coastal erosion?
Coastal erosion is the wearing away and breaking up of rock along the coast, often by waves.
According to research by Imperial College London, rock coasts - which make up over half the world’s coastlines - could retreat more rapidly in the future due to accelerating sea level rise. The study found that rock coasts, which are traditionally thought of as stable compared to sandy coasts and soft cliffs, are likely to retreat at a rate not seen for 3,000-5,000 years.
This means that in sites such as Yorkshire and Devon, rock coast cliffs could retreat by at least 10-22m inland - a rate of erosion between three and seven times today’s rate and potentially up to tenfold.
Earlier this year 21 "erosion hotspots" climate action group One Home identified on the English coast, including seaside villages in Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset, East Yorkshire, Essex, Kent, the Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Norfolk and Sussex. The group said 2,218 homes were in danger, with an estimated total worth of £584m.
You can find out what is being done to manage coastal erosion in the coming years on the Environment Agency's national coastal erosion risk map, via the government website. The map shows the four different types of managing coastal erosion and how it will help in the short, medium and long-term future. Flood and coastal erosion risk maps are also published for Wales.
Coastal risk screening tools show the areas most at risk around the UK.
Recommended reading
Coastal erosion: Single mother-of-two fears she will be forced to leave cliff-top home by Christmas (Yahoo News UK)
Five homes to be demolished on erosion-hit coastline (PA Media)
Beach steps at The Needles closed amid landslip and erosion fears (Isle of Wight County Press)
