The UK’s first climate change refugees?
Are these the UK’s first climate change refugees?
The residents of Fairbourne, a village in Gwynedd, have been labelled as such after the government announced they would have to leave their homes.
They’ve been told the area - 450 houses, a pub, post office and several shops - will be decommissioned by 2054 because of the threat of sea-level rise and coastal flooding linked to climate change.
It’s been seven years, and house prices in the area have plummeted. Residents don’t know when or where they will have to move, who will pay, and they haven’t been offered any compensation.
Gwynedd Council says: “In the long term, maintaining and increasing flood defences would not only be costly but would also lead to increased risk to life should the defences fail.”
Filmed and edited by Samantha Everett. Produced by Tom Baker.
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