'We don't want to be the next village lost to erosion'

Residents of a Suffolk village say they do not want to see their homes lost to coastal erosion after the frontman of The Darkness called for greater protection for the area.

Singer Justin Hawkins called for the sea defences at Corton to be replaced after his parents were informed by East Suffolk Council their home could be lost to the sea.

Villagers have backed Hawkins' campaign and said they did not want to become the next Hemsby - a Norfolk village where 41 homes have been demolished since December due to erosion.

East Suffolk Council said it would not be able to fund replacement sea defences at Corton. Lowestoft MP Jess Asato said she had approached the government for help.

Joy McLeod has a retirement home in Corton and had hoped to eventually leave it to her children.

She said: "It's not going to be saleable because we're really very close [to the coastline].

"Since I've lived here, I've seen [the coastline] come quite a lot closer.

"I do feel vulnerable... if [I did lose the home], we're completely homeless."

Lisa Clark owns the White Horse Pub just off the coast.

She said she felt the authorities did not believe the village to be "worthy of any support".

Clark backed Hawkins' campaign and said "more and more people" were becoming aware of the issue at Corton.

She said: "We're all getting together, we need people's help, support and we don't want to become Hemsby.

"We don't want to leave it that long until you're seeing houses fall in the sea."

East Suffolk Council said the sea defences at Corton were "beyond cost-effective repair" and the promenade between Baker's Score and Tibbenham's Score had been closed off due to safety issues.

It said in 2022 it had looked at replacing the sea defences, but the cost would have been "approximately £26 million", a figure that would likely be significantly higher today.

While funding from the Environment Agency could provide between £1.5m and £2m, the council would need to find the rest.

Stephen Pavey is the chairman of Corton Parish Council. He said coastal erosion was a "big threat" to the village, but added that the parish council would be unlikely to provide any financial support.

"We have a precept of £8,000 so to ask us to raise £25 million is pure folly," he said.

"We would never be able to raise that sort of money. So how would we go about it?"

Pavey said the parish council had been in touch with Labour MP for Lowestoft Jess Asato to ask for help.

Asato said on social media on Monday she had written to Flooding Minister Emma Hardy to ask for a meeting about securing funding for Corton.

She said: "Residents should not be expected to leave their homes without every realistic option to protect them being properly considered.

"They deserve to know that everything possible is being done to help them stay safely in the community they call home."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We know how concerning coastal erosion is for communities and we are working with local councils to help people in Suffolk adapt to coastal change and build resilience to coastal erosion, supported by our £200m Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme and wider coastal erosion funding."

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