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Yorkshire coastal residents warned 'no coming back' from erosion

BBC Skipsea in 20007 and in 2022BBC
Within the last 15 years a road and back gardens in Skipsea, East Yorkshire, have disappeared due to coastal erosion

Residents of erosion-hit coastal stretches of Yorkshire should think about moving inland as their homes may no longer be able to be defended.

Environment Agency boss Sir James Bevan said there was "no coming back" for land hit by erosion.

In East Yorkshire, about 12ft (4m) is lost each year to the sea with more homes put at risk, the council said.

Carolyn Hodgson, who lives on the coast, said she did not want to leave but knew it was "inevitable".

Speaking at a flood and coast conference, Sir James, the agency's chief executive, said: "While we can come back safely after most river flooding, there's no coming back for land that coastal erosion has taken away or which a rising sea level has put permanently or frequently under water.

"Which means that in some places the right answer will have to be to move communities away from danger."

Carolyn Hodgson
Skipsea resident Carolyn Hodgson said she believed the move inland was "inevitable"

As well as homes being in danger along a 50-mile stretch of the Yorkshire coast, more than 400 caravans and holiday chalets are also thought to be under threat, according to East Riding council forecasts.

Speaking from her cliff edge home in Skipsea, Ms Hodgson said plans were in place to head inland when the sea got too close, but that she was reluctant to leave.

"I love it here, but we're at very high risk and it's inevitable it's going to happen," she said.

Another Skipsea resident told BBC Look North: "We can't really defend the coastline can we? We'll just have to let parts of England go."

Aerial view of coastal erosion in East Yorkshire
Sir James said long-term decisions needed to be made

Officers at a council meeting in 2020 were told the rate of erosion on the east Yorkshire coast was "staggering" and the stress it placed on coastal residents was "enormous."

Sir James said no residents should be forced from their homes against their will.

But, he added: "We need to start the conversation now about the options, not least because we owe it to the threatened communities to help them decide what they want their long-term future to be."

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