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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision on how best to tackle the issue is creating unnecessary distress about the final resting places of their loved ones.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

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

A recent report on the issue sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Officials maintain it is for the community to determine how to proceed.

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

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could fall into the waves in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Troubled by the Past

One resident remembered a school trip to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. Individuals will collect remains as mementos and go plundering graves in search of valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the grave of a ex-soldier who died while serving overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to consider this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb existing graves. “What I would choose for now is to take no action and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Answers and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling frustrated and worried.

Some want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Others argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotional,” said one relative. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the burial sites were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to assist them through that process with communities.”

He added there was time to weigh all the options. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the appropriate solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of hallowed earth.