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Families whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to shoreline retreat say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the problem is creating avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Ancient Graveyards

The council have singled out three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being in danger of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the situation details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to disinterring bodies and reburying them in safer locations. Authorities say it is for the community to determine how to move forward.

“At the moment we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their last home, but it won't be because of the sea.”

Projections indicate at least a portion of one graveyard could be claimed by the sea in the next 80 years, but some locals fear it will happen much sooner. “In my view it’s got under 20 years, if you look at what’s occurred in the last 30 years,” a farmer stated.

Haunted by the Past

One resident remembered a childhood visit to the neighbouring settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, along with its church and graveyard.

“You could see people’s bones,” she said. “Some have this idealized notion that people’s remains will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. Individuals will take bones as souvenirs and go grave robbing looking for valuables. It’s completely disrespectful.”

“I’m worried that the identical fate that happened at Eccles will occur here and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel appalled by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Along the coast lies the burial plot of a ex-soldier killed while working abroad. His parent said she lost sleep after learning her son’s grave might one day be relocated.

“It truly trouble me to think this may not remain his permanent home,” she said. “For us it’s an significant site to visit.”

She believes, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume existing graves. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an timely resolution needs to be made when a tipping point has been attained.”

Searching for Solutions and Certainty

An absence of consensus over the timing and method to tackle the problem has resulted in grieving relatives feeling exasperated and anxious.

Some are calling for additional sea defences to slow the unavoidable loss and to allow funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the time for relocation is approaching.

“The situation is very emotive,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s confusion about how it is implemented. And everybody is avoiding responsibility over who is accountable.”

A local official said the graveyards were owned and managed of the local diocese. “Ultimately it is up to them to decide the path to take. We are here to help support them through that journey with communities.”

It was also stated there was time to weigh all the choices. “We are talking decades before it starts to be lost.”

“There is no common view on what should be done yet. We need productive local conversations to find the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of losing the churches and graveyards was described as one of “immense sorrow for the local community,” but faith leaders also spoke of a belief in resurrection, providing a spiritual perspective on the temporal loss of sacred ground.