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Families of people buried in graves vulnerable to 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 Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

A newly published study on the issue details a range of options, from doing nothing to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure locations. Authorities say it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

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

Estimates suggest at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got under 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring village of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the water, including its place of worship and burial ground.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. That is not the case. Individuals will take bones as mementos and go plundering graves in search of treasures. That is completely disrespectful.”

“I fear that the same thing 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 Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent said she lost sleep after discovering her son’s final plot might one day be moved.

“It truly disturb me to think this won’t be his lasting home,” she said. “To our family it’s an important place to go.”

She believes, new interments should cease but says it is premature 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 tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of consensus over the timing and method to handle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to proceed for now. Others argue the moment for relocation is approaching.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And all parties is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A local official confirmed the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is down 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 choices. “We are talking many years before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should be done yet. It requires productive community discussions to find the appropriate solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sadness for the area,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, providing a theological viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.