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Families of people buried in graves at risk from shoreline retreat state that indecision on how best to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the final resting places of their loved ones.

A Looming Danger to Historic Graveyards

The council have identified three burial grounds in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being consumed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a series of options, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and relocating them in more secure locations. Authorities maintain it is for local people to decide how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that people’s remains will just get washed out to sea. That is not the case. People will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for treasures. 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 shore. I’d be disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast is situated the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His mother said she lost sleep after learning her child's final plot might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an important site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should cease but says it is too soon to disturb existing graves. “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 attained.”

Seeking Answers and Certainty

The lack of agreement over the timing and method to handle the problem has left bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want more sea defences to delay the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” a family member stated. “The official study 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 said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was ample time to weigh all the choices. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no unified opinion on what should happen yet. We need good community discussions to find the right answers for each community.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “immense sadness for the local community,” but church representatives also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal loss of sacred ground.