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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that a lack of decision on how best to address the problem is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation sets out a range of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They intended this to be their final resting place, but it won't be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves 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 occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Peril

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while working abroad. His parent said she could not sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit burials to proceed for now. Others contend the moment for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion 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 under the care of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to assist them through that journey with communities.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive community discussions to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the historic sites was labeled one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.