Trimingham the Norfolk village most at risk of erosion

A house in Trimingham, between Overstrand and Mundesley, is set to be demolished by the council as it now hangs perilously over the cliffs which dramatically fell last week.

The owner of the old farmhouse at the village’s Cliff Farm has evacuated the property, which he bought for his retirement just five years ago. He paid around £132,000 for it at auction in 2019.

Now, North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has said Trimingham is amongst the villages along the north Norfolk coast most at threat by erosion.

The old farmhouse at Cliff Farm in Trimingham, which dates back to the 18th century, now hangs perilously over the cliff edge (Image: Adam Barker)

READ MORE: Home hanging perilously over cliff edge to be DEMOLISHED by council

Harry Blathwayt, portfolio holder for coast at NNDC, said: “The shoreline management plan of the Environment Agency (EA) shows Trimingham to be the riskiest area along the Norfolk erosion coast as it stands.

“The erosion is happening from the top down. It’s not wave action eroding the cliffs - although it will be a factor as sea levels continue to rise - it’s the rainfall saturating them.”

Debris on the beach at Trimingham (Image: Adam Barker)

Shoreline management plans are set by the government and local authorities as a planned approach to manage coastal erosion risk around the coast of England until the year 2105.

There are 20 shoreline management plans across the country, and the current strategy for the stretch of coast from Overstrand to Mundesley, covering Trimingham, until next year is "managed realignment".

Under the current plan, the intention is for a natural shoreline, with no new sea defences to be built - although existing wooden revetments and groynes on Trimingham beach can be repaired.

However, the plan for the area from 2025 to 2105 is "no active intervention", meaning nothing will be done to actively protect the coastline from future erosion.

The beach at Trimingham (Image: Adam Barker)

“The north Norfolk coast is on the frontline,” Mr Blathwayt said.

“We don’t know what the summer and next winter are going to bring in terms of rain but climate change is undoubtedly having an effect.

“The problem at Trimmingham is getting anything to the beach is difficult because of limited access and to get heavy stuff there is almost impossible.

“It’s an eroding cliff and the beach is isolated, so it isn’t easy to reach.

“The village is not massively populated either and - as with Happisburgh - population levels are a factor when it comes to government funding for sea defences.

“Trimingham is an area which is less likely to be protected."

Harry Blathwayt, North Norfolk District Council's portfolio holder for coast (Image: NNDC)

Last year, the imminent threat of erosion at Trimingham and signal interference from offshore wind farms forced the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to move the village’s distinctive 'golf ball' radar station further inland to Neatishead.

READ MORE: North Norfolk's iconic 'golf ball' radar removed from coast

And in January 2020, a chunk of the cliff collapsed sending tonnes of sand and silt plummeting down onto the beach from Trimingham House Caravan Park.

An image from a drone of the cliff fall at Trimingham, taken on January 7, 2020 (Image: BlueSky UAV Specialists)

An image taken from a microlight aircraft of the Trimingham caravan park, taken in February 2019, showing how it looked before the cliff falls in December 2019 and January 2020 (Image: John Fielding JohnFielding001@gmail.c)

Mr Blathwayt said the caravan park could be “rolled back” to prevent it from being lost to the sea.

A similar rollback strategy is being deployed by the council at Happisburgh to move the clifftop car park, which is currently accessed via Beach Road, further inland.

Mr Blathwayt said the coastal road – the Cromer Road and Mundesley Road – which passes through Trimingham handrailing the cliffs will also eventually have to be rebuilt.

An image taken with a drone of the Trimingham cliffs, near the cliff fall, taken on January 7, 2020 (Image: Archant)

An image from a drone of the cliff fall at Trimingham, taken on January 7, 2020 (Image: Archant)

Trimingham Parish Council has an ambitious plan to use drones to plant seeds along the cliffs in a bid to naturally bind them together and slow down the rate of erosion.

However, the area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and this would also require permission from Natural England.

“It would have to be deep-rooted to be effective,” Mr Blathwayt said.

“At Bacton we’ve seeded wild meadow grass, but I would have to talk to the engineers involved to work out how effective that would be in Trimingham.”