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Loved ones whose relatives buried in resting places vulnerable to coastal erosion say that a lack of decision on how best to tackle the issue is causing them avoidable anguish about the eternal homes of their departed family.

An Impending Threat to Historic Churchyards

Local authorities have identified three burial grounds in the villages of Happisburgh, Trimingham, and Mundesley as being at risk of being swallowed by the ocean in the next few generations.

A newly published study on the issue details a series of possible actions, from taking no action to exhuming remains and relocating them in safer locations. Officials say it is for local people to determine how to proceed.

“Right now we’re in limbo. It upsets me. My parents intended this to be their final resting place, but it isn’t going to be because of the encroaching sea.”

Projections suggest at least a portion of one churchyard could fall into the sea in the next 80 years, but some residents fear it will happen far earlier. “I think it’s got less than 20 years, if you consider what’s happened in the last 30 years,” one said.

Haunted by the Ghosts of Eccles

One resident recalled a school trip to the nearby settlement of Eccles, which has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, including its church and graveyard.

“You could see human remains,” she said. “Some have this romantic idea that the deceased will just get washed out to the ocean. They won’t. People will collect remains as mementos and go grave robbing in search of valuables. That is completely undignified.”

“I fear that the identical fate that befell at Eccles will happen at Happisburgh and there’ll be skeletons on the beach. I would feel disgusted by that.”

A Paratrooper's Resting Place in Jeopardy

Further up the shoreline lies the burial plot of a former paratrooper killed while serving abroad. His parent expressed she could not sleep after discovering her child's grave might one day be relocated.

“It does trouble me to think this won’t be his permanent resting place,” she said. “To our family it’s an significant site to visit.”

In her view, new burials should stop but says it is too soon to exhume current plots. “My preference for now is to do nothing and closely monitor, but an early decision must be made when a tipping point has been reached.”

Seeking Solutions and Clarity

The lack of agreement over when and how to tackle the problem has resulted in bereaved families feeling exasperated and anxious.

Several families are calling for more coastal protections to slow the unavoidable loss and to permit funerals to continue for now. Different voices argue the moment for moving graves is drawing near.

“It is very emotional,” said one relative. “The official study was really good, but now there’s uncertainty about how it is taken forward. And everybody is washing their hands over who is responsible.”

A coastal manager confirmed the graveyards were under the care of the local diocese. “In the end it is up to them to choose the direction to take. Our role is here to help support them through that journey with residents.”

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

“There is no unified opinion on what should happen yet. It requires good local conversations to discover the right solutions for each community.”

The prospect of the loss of the churches and graveyards was described as one of “profound sorrow for the area,” but church representatives also referenced a doctrine in life after death, providing a spiritual viewpoint on the temporal disappearance of hallowed earth.