Plans made to defend cliffs with more rocks

A planning application to install 2,000 tonnes of rocks to tackle erosion at a coastal holiday village is due to be lodged by the spring.

Crumbling sandy cliffs at Thorpeness in Suffolk led to the demolition of a large house in October 2022 and campaigners said further erosion had taken place since then.

Lucy Ansbro, a resident and a director of the Thorpeness Community Interest Company, said the plans would cost more than £1m and would be submitted to East Suffolk Council "within the next few weeks".

Ms Ansbro, who spent £500,000 in 2021 protecting her clifftop home with more than 1,000 tonnes of rocks, said: "The lack of defences north and south of the rocks and continued erosion means we now have to shore up the rest of the cliff to protect homes and the whole village."

Residents of Thorpeness, which lies between Aldeburgh and Sizewell, contributed towards the £700,000 costs to put in geobag defences between 2010 and 2012.

The Red House, built in the 1920s in North End Avenue, was demolished after receding cliffs made it unsafe.

Ms Ansbro said that since the demolition about five metres (16ft) of land had been lost to the sea to the north of her home.

"The rock defences in front of my home have worked well but erosion is continuing and if the cliff goes, then the village will become much more vulnerable to erosion," she said.

"We are collaborating with nearby residents to find a way of financing this scheme because there is no council or government money available."

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