Happisburgh beach access ramp closed following storm damage

Access to a Norfolk beach has been restricted after storm tides and heavy rain damaged a ramp.

Sections of cliff at Happisburgh have collapsed as a result of tidal conditions and strong winds over Christmas and New Year.

People trying to access the beach are advised to heed warnings and use recommended diversions.

North Norfolk District Council said while it would repair the ramp, a longer-term solution was needed.

Happisburgh beach can now only be reached via Cart Gap, to the south or Walcott to the north. Each is about 1.5 miles (2.4km) from Happisburgh.

Bryony Nierop-Reading, 78, lives in the house closest to the cliff edge. A campaigner for 15 years, she deliberately moved to the erosion zone to help fight for better defences.

She said: "Just before Christmas, there was a gatepost there in front of that gate and every day the cliff went from under it and the gate post's sunk now.

"There is no gatepost [now]. The gate is falling off the edge of the cliff, the fence that used to fence the car park is hanging in mid-air.

"We've lost a metre and a bit of the asphalt road in the last two days. This rain has been horrific. Every single day, more of it's gone."

Harry Blathwayt, portfolio holder for coast at the council, said the authority would have to fund the repairs, adding the nearby carpark income would help meet the cost.

"We have to fix it because that is how we get access to that beach," he said.

"Otherwise our coastal engineers would have to access Happisburgh beach from either Cart Gap or Walcott and that's too far, so, yes, the ramp will be fixed."

But he said they would have to lobby Government for additional protection works.

"We are dealing with climate change," he said.

"We are having more and more violent storms. We are facing challenges that I think even ten years ago, we wouldn't be expecting and we will do all in our power to help protect the Happisburgh, the lighthouse, the shop, the pub."

Mrs Nierop-Reading has conceded she will almost certainly lose her house to erosion at some point in 2024.

"I've got to fit things [campaigning] in between moving out of my house because I won't in my house next Christmas," she added.

"I don't have the energy I had years ago, but there is a group in Happisburgh now working to campaign about the cliff.

"I think we cannot save Happisburgh for ever, but we can slow the erosion down."

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