Thousands of homes worth a total of £600million in 20 at-risk villages and hamlets will fall to the sea by the end of the century as Britain’s coastline disappears, report warns
Homes worth around £600million will collapse into the sea by the end of the century due to coastal erosion, a report warns.
Over 20 at-risk villages and hamlets were analyzed to estimate how much coastline could be lost assuming current policies on defending, withdrawing or abandoning sections of coastline are followed.
The value of the damage to the homes was estimated at £584million using prices from property website Rightmove, according to research by climate action group One Home.
In total, more than 2,200 homes are expected to be lost by 2100.
The value of the damage to the houses was estimated at £584million. Pictured: House on the coast in Hemsby
The most at-risk coastal communities are in Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset, East Yorkshire, Essex, Isle of Wight, Kent, Northumberland, Norfolk and Sussex.
Angela Terry, Managing Director of One Home, said: “Sea levels are rising as global temperatures soar and larger waves hit our coast in severe storms.
“These irreversible changes mean that some cliffs are collapsing rapidly.
“We cannot reverse the trend or build a wall across the entire coast, so we urgently need to help seaside communities prepare for the damage that will come.”
The climate expert also said many landlords are unaware their properties are at risk and decisions have been made about whether to protect them.
She said: ‘Currently, for homes at risk, there is no compensation scheme available. Homeowners could be asked to pay to demolish their homes while paying their mortgage.
Erosion risk was calculated using data from the Environment Agency’s National Coastal Erosion Risk Map.
Policies on whether sections of the coast need to be defended, set back or abandoned are detailed in Coastal Management Plans, drawn up by Coastal Groups made up mainly of members of local councils and the Environment Agency .
It is predicted that more than 2,200 homes will be lost by the year 2100. Pictured: A 230ft long crack in a cliff in Seatown this week
Ian Brennan, chairman of the Save Hemsby Coastline charity in Norfolk, said more than 90 homes in Hemsby were at risk of going into the sea over the next 25 years if left unchecked.
He also said many owners were unaware their properties were at risk when they bought them.
He added: “People here are very nervous. Whenever there is a storm, those who live within sight and sound of the sea fear that it is the one that will cause them to lose their homes.
Lucy Ansbro, 54, said she spent £500,000 to protect her home from coastal erosion in Thorpeness, Suffolk.
But his neighbour’s mansion, once worth £2million, was demolished in October 2022 because receding cliffs made it unsafe. She said: “Homeowners need to know how quickly changes can happen if you live in vulnerable parts of the coast.
“No one takes this seriously or accepts that communities are at serious risk.”
The report comes after a 230ft long crack in a Jurassic Coast cliff opened up last week. The 60ft wide section of the cliff at Seatown, Dorset, sank 3ft.
A first crack was left in the sandstone after a huge collapse in April 2021 but recent movements have destabilized it even more.
Experts believe the entire section could cave in at any time and have urged the public to stay away.
