When Sophie Marple bought a holiday home in a tranquil Suffolk village, the thing that attracted her most was the stunning view overlooking the sea.
But it is this very sea that will now be the demise of her home, as rapid coastal erosion means it may be just weeks or months before it falls into the water. When things get worse, they will be forced to demolish it.
Insurers don’t cover coastal erosion as they deem it a foreseeable incident, which means the home that Sophie and her family bought for £550,000 – and spent another £450,000 re-building – will be completely lost.
“It is horrendous to see this happening to a house you absolutely love and put so much time and effort into,” said Sophie, 55, who is married to Nick and has two daughters aged 16 and 13.
“We know we are very lucky because it is our second home and there are people who are losing the home they live in and being made homeless through what is happening to our eroding coast.
“But we love this home and the location. It is really beautiful and has an incredible view over the sea. It is in a quaint little village with a lot of history and heritage. Once our house has gone, so will our connection to the village. It is devastating.”
Sophie, a climate change and nature loss campaigner who lives in London, told The i Paper she bought the house in the Suffolk village of Thorpeness 20 years ago. They have never rented it out, but go there for holidays and let family and friends use it.
Thorpeness has been a holiday hotspot for more than a century, but is now being lost to coastal erosion, leading to the demolition of several homes.
Sophie explained that when she bought the home, she knew there could be a future risk of erosion affecting it. They had an environmental survey done, which showed they were in an area of deposition, with shingle being deposited on the beach and then back again, but at that time, everything was stable and secure.
“It was what we wanted to hear. But we knew we were on a sandy cliff and that if we lost the beach, we would be subject to erosion.
“All the surveyor could do was look at what had happened in the past and what the situation was at that present moment – they could not predict the future.
“One thing the surveyor said to me was: ‘If you don’t want to fall in the sea, don’t buy by the sea.’ It was a risk, I know that.”
Sophie and her family outside the home. When they bought the property, she knew there could be a future risk of it being affected by erosionWhen Sophie bought the detached four-bedroom home 20 years ago, it had a plastic-clad structure, was old and rotting inside and had no central heating. An architect told them it needed more than renovation and they would have to rebuild it.
In 2010, there was a major erosion event affecting the beach, shingle and undergrowth in front of them and Sophie realised their home did not have any defences.
“At the time, we had been thinking about rebuilding the house, so we stopped all our plans,” recalled Sophie. “But then an ambitious scheme was put in with the council, a public-private partnership where we contributed, but the council took responsibility for building defences in front of us.
“This collaboration gave us a lot of confidence and made us feel safe.
“So a few years later, we rebuilt the house with a kit build, spending around £450,000. It is beautiful.”A year ago, the defences suddenly became eroded and had a sharp ridge.
Over Christmas, the area experienced severe weather, which battered the defences. Then, in early January this year, a couple of powerful storms hit the village. It culminated in 11 houses being demolished.
Now, Sophie’s home and another nearby house are at risk and she says they have no idea how long they have left.
“We are right on the edge of a cliff now,” explained Sophie. “There used to be about 18 to 20 metres to the beach to walk down. That has all gone and we are now on the edge of a steep and sandy bank with just a cut-off in front of us.”
Erosion damage to the cliff outside Sophie’s homeSophie says the problem is that East Suffolk Council has not got enough money and has decided not to allow planning permission for any defences in front of them, leaving the two affected houses unprotected.
“We are now in limbo and waiting for the inevitable to happen,” said Sophie. “We are still using the home, but every time we go there, we don’t know if we will be able to go again the following weekend.
“The council gives you a trigger point and tells you at what point the bank has to get to before you have to demolish. Until it gets to that point, we won’t demolish the house.
“Insurance does not cover it at all, so if the house does fall into the sea, not only will we lose a house we love, we will lose all that money.”
Sophie says that while their personal situation is horrible, it is a national problem happening all the way around the coastline. “This is the massive impact of climate change and it is being silenced and avoided.”
Sophie says the house is in a beautiful location overlooking the seaA spokesperson for East Suffolk Council told The i Paper that a joint private and council-funded rock bag scheme had been installed in Thorpeness, which is expected to offer protection for between two and five years.
They said: “The rock bags aim to slow erosion and reduce the risk of flooding. As we have made clear throughout, there are no permanent solutions which will stop the erosion completely.
“We have been engaging with all affected residents, including Sophie Marple, since last spring about their erosion risk following publication of the Environment Agency’s national erosion risk maps.
“This included the need to have a plan in place for the safe removal of property when critical safety levels are reached due to erosion.”
Under the Coastal Protection Act 1949, a local authority can take short-term interventions to slow erosion if the situation is urgent. Under the Act, the criteria for urgency include the exploration of a new or emerging risk.
The spokesperson added: “Whilst we are sympathetic to Sophie’s situation, we have a duty to use taxpayers’ funds responsibly and seek the best outcome possible for the maximum number of properties.
“Extending the rock bags northwards would not be strategically, technically, environmentally or financially feasible, as an extension would cost a minimum of £300,000 in an attempt to slow erosion to only two properties, for a short period of time, where the risk is already known and plans are already in place for safe removal of properties when necessary.
“We understand this is a distressing time for all affected residents, and we are continuing to support homeowners to whom we have also offered support and direct financial assistance, to help safely remove their property should it become necessary.”
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