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Families of people laid to rest in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that indecision over how to address the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Threat to Ancient Churchyards

The council have singled out three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Mundesley, and Trimingham as being in danger of being swallowed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a range of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in safer sites. Officials maintain it is for local people to decide how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in a state of uncertainty. It causes me distress. They intended this to serve as their last home, but it isn’t going to be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the waves in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you look at what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Troubled by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. That is completely disrespectful.”

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

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while working overseas. His mother expressed she could not sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

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

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and watch carefully, but an early decision must be made when a critical moment has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

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

Several families want additional coastal protections to delay the inevitable erosion and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the moment for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The council’s report was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is taken forward. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official confirmed the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the direction to take. We are here to help support them through that process with residents.”

He added there was time to consider all the choices. “We are talking many years before it starts to be lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should be done yet. It requires productive local conversations to find the appropriate answers for each village.”

The prospect of the loss of the historic sites was described as one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in life after death, offering a spiritual viewpoint on the physical loss of sacred ground.