Bid to move redundant coast defence rocks rejected

A Suffolk community's bid to move redundant erosion defences to bolster protection further up the coast has been turned down - with the rocks instead being moved into storage.

Eleven homes have been knocked down in Thorpeness, and resident-led community interest company, Thorpeness CIC, wanted to make better use of a rock barrier - installed in 2021 - to protect at-risk homes further north in the village.

East Suffolk Council said it would not be viable for several reasons, including safety concerns, and the rocks would be temporarily removed at an estimated cost of up to £500,000.

Dennis Skinner, a CIC director, said it was disappointing, but the group would work to address concerns.

He said the group agreed the rocks needed to be removed as they were no longer providing any support for the village, but it had hoped to move them to a different "vulnerable part" of the village to provide "further protection".

"The scheme that we put forward, which was based on some engineers that did the work for us, we believe meets all the necessary requirements, but the council have at this stage not agreed with that proposition," he explained.

"We've not completely given up but, obviously, they have shared some significant concerns.

"We find that disappointing because the whole village of Thorpeness are keen to see these rocks continue to be used to support the village."

The rocks will be removed from the beach this winter and stored nearby, to be made available subject to a "district-wide needs assessment for a community-led scheme in Thorpeness", the council said.

It believed removing the rocks was the best option as it would allow sediment to move freely along the frontage and contribute to a better beach, reducing tidal flooding and erosion risk.

On Thorpeness CIC's proposal for the redundant rocks, the council said the proposals did not satisfy some of the "critical principles" for a small coastal rock scheme.

Mark Packard, in charge of coastal management at the council, said he was "sympathetic to the plight of affected property owners", but with limited resources the council had to make decisions that "protect as many homes and people as possible", and that the proposal would "only provide further protection from erosion to a small number of properties".

"Given our responsibility for managing 36km (22 miles) of actively eroding coastline and supporting potentially impacted properties along the length of the Suffolk coast, we cannot justify allocating a disproportionate share of limited funding to a proposal that may well not be effective in the medium and longer term," he said.

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