Relatives urged to talk about at-risk cemetery

People with family members buried in a graveyard near a cliff edge are being encouraged to discuss the site's future.

St Mary the Virgin Church in Happisburgh, Norfolk, is now 80m (262ft) away from the sea, and there were fears it could be lost to coastal erosion.

The local council and the Diocese of Norwich are considering what action is needed to protect the graves and are seeking input from stakeholders.

Sarah Greenwood, whose parents and grandparents were laid to rest there, said: "Anybody that has a close relative here needs to be consulted about what happens. It's really sad, it's inevitable, but I'd hoped it would be in 200 years, so I wouldn't have to worry about it."

The Environment Agency has predicted that by 2055, St Mary the Virgin will be at considerable risk of erosion and will probably be lost altogether by 2105.

A report by North Norfolk District Council, published in August, said significant storms could advance that timeline.

Its current options for Happisburgh, and graveyards at Trimingham and Mundesley, include ceasing to use the churchyards for burials, and exhuming and relocating graves.

The construction of sea defences was not "technically, environmentally or economically feasible", the report added.

"We should be planning ahead, and it's down to communities to decide what happens," said Ms Greenwood, who praised the council's "measured" approach.

"I don't like the thought of them [my relatives] staying there, I think it's dignified for them to be moved.

"In an ideal world, we would get soft defences along the beach to slow the erosion and have a long, considered consultation with everybody."

The churchyard includes a mass grave containing the remains of 119 crew of the HMS Invincible, who died when their ship sank off the coast in 1801.

The graves of a 23-year-old soldier who died in 1917 and a Royal Navy seaman who died during World War Two would also need to be considered.

Parish council chairman David Mole has three family members buried at St Mary the Virgin and admitted he was "fairly relaxed" about the issue.

"I can't see a great urgency, but we should be including it in plans for future," he said.

"Understandably, people are terribly emotional about dear relatives and friends buried here, and perhaps we should stop using it.

"We want people to be aware of what's going on, and we must discuss this in a measured way."

A North Norfolk District Council spokesperson said: "Graveyards and churches that are at risk from coastal erosion are a very sensitive issue for the communities affected.

"The council, through the Coastwise scheme, are working with the Diocese of Norwich to help support them and the local communities."

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