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Families of people laid to rest in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the problem is causing them unnecessary distress about the eternal homes of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer sites. Authorities maintain it is for local people to determine 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.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Past

One resident recalled a childhood visit to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get carried away to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves in search of treasures. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be bones on the beach. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Peril

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to consider this may not remain his lasting resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and watch carefully, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Certainty

An absence of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and worried.

Several families want additional sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were under the care of the church authorities. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

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

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a theological perspective on the physical disappearance of hallowed earth.