Support our coastal erosion victims before Holderness falls into the sea – The Yorkshire Post says
As parts of the Holderness cliffs crumble away at a rate of up to four metres a year, it has brought the sea perilously close to rows of cliff-edge properties as dramatic new aerial photographs have revealed. Back gardens are falling away into the sea by the day.
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Hide AdThese are not stately ‘second homes’. They are modest – and much-loved – properties that represent a lifetime’s work on the part of their owners who never anticipated the current rate of erosion And the angst of residents in Skipsea, and other locations, was self-evident when they lobbied East Riding councillors and explained how they had been left all at sea – literally – by the ambivalence of Ministers.
For example, they claim they receive even less attention than flooding victims and that it is impossible to obtain insurance – one of many injustices over funding.
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Hide AdAs Deborah Hawksley, 61, said: “There are times when the sea is literally hitting the cliff, coming halfway up and then a wall of sea cascading right up into the sky and then you realise that it’s just a matter of metres from your home.”
Words which further vindicate this newspaper’s call for a dedicated Minister for the Coast and Flooding to co-ordinate policy residents now want a debate in Parliament. They have 3,000 signatures. They need 100,000. If a fraction of the 5.4 million Yorkshire residents who visit the coast each year back the campaign, the voices of Mrs Hawksley – and others – will be heard before it is too late. Over to you.