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Loved ones of people laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that a lack of decision over how to address the issue is causing them unnecessary distress concerning the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being consumed by the sea in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in a state of uncertainty. It upsets me. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does disturb me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and anxious.

Several families want more sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the options. “This concerns many years before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “immense sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, offering a theological perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.