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Families of people buried in resting places at risk from coastal erosion argue that indecision over how to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish concerning the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Danger to Ancient Graveyards

The council have identified three church graveyards in the communities of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the ocean in the coming decades.

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

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

Estimates suggest at least part 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 look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

A local business owner recalled a childhood visit to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has largely vanished into the water, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see people’s bones,” she said. “Certain people hold this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will collect remains as souvenirs and go plundering graves looking for valuables. It’s completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will occur at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I’d be appalled by that.”

A Soldier's Grave in Jeopardy

Further up the coast lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper who died while serving overseas. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her son’s grave might one day be moved.

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

In her view, new interments should stop but says it is premature to disturb current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution must be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Seeking Answers and Clarity

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to handle the challenge has left grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some want more coastal protections to delay the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices contend the time for relocation is drawing near.

“It is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was thorough, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is implemented. And all parties is avoiding responsibility over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to choose the path to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the choices. “This concerns decades before it begins getting lost.”

“Currently, there exists no common view on what should happen yet. We need good local conversations to discover the right solutions for each village.”

The possibility of the loss of the churches and graveyards was labeled one of “profound sadness for the local community,” but faith leaders also referenced a doctrine in resurrection, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of sacred ground.