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Families whose relatives buried in graves at risk from coastal erosion say that indecision over how to tackle the problem is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

A Looming Threat to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being engulfed by the sea in the next few generations.

A recent report on the situation sets out a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in more secure sites. Authorities maintain it is for the community to decide how to move forward.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It causes me distress. They wanted this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Estimates indicate at least part of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals worry it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Past

A local business owner remembered a school trip to the nearby village of Eccles, which has almost entirely vanished into the sea, along with its place of worship and burial ground.

“It was possible to see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get carried away to the ocean. That is not the case. People will take bones as mementos and go grave robbing in search of treasures. That is completely undignified.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen here and there’ll be skeletons on the shore. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Grave in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the grave of a ex-soldier killed while serving abroad. His parent expressed she lost sleep after discovering her child's final plot might one day be moved.

“It does disturb me to think this may not remain his permanent resting place,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new interments should stop but says it is premature to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Searching for Solutions and Clarity

An absence of agreement over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling frustrated and worried.

Several families want additional coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow burials to proceed for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is drawing near.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The council’s report 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 said the burial sites were owned and managed of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the path to take. We are here to assist them through that process with residents.”

He added there was ample time to consider all the options. “This concerns decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should happen yet. It requires productive local conversations to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the historic sites was described as one of “profound sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a doctrine in resurrection, offering a spiritual perspective on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.