Disappearing
World: The Village Falling Into The Sea
By Mark Hughes
07 January,
2008
The
Independent
The
sign as you enter Skipsea is an immediate indication that something
is wrong. "Danger," it reads. "Enter at your own risk."
Just ahead, there is a huge hole in the middle of the road, blocking
your path.
The village
of Skipsea sits, precariously, on Yorkshire's East Riding coastline
– the fastest eroding coastline in Europe.
As 2008 begins,
many of the villagers have a common new year's resolution: to leave
their doomed village before their homes are washed into the sea. Official
figures estimate that this coastline loses an average of 18 inches a
year. The council estimates that 13 homes in the village will disappear
in the next five years, with a further 78 likely to be lost by 2058.
But, worryingly,
the residents of Skipsea, which has a population of just 600, say these
estimates are far too optimistic.
With 2007
being the worst year in recent memory, 2008 is generally regarded as
make or break for those closest to the ever-receding cliff-face.
For Josephine
and Colin Arnold this will almost certainly be the year they are forced
to leave their home of 19 years.
The couple
moved to their 11-room farmhouse in May 1988 to set up a business in
the village, which is a popular tourist destination.
They bought
the house with an acre of land and opened a restaurant, a campsite,
a caravan park and a holiday cottage.
But in just
19 years the land behind their home, which once stretched back 100 feet,
has shrunk to six feet.
The land
where the campsite, the caravans and cottage once stood is gone, washed
away by the sea. Last year's frequent storms forced them to start demolishing
their home, reducing the 11-room farmhouse, where they housed the restaurant,
to to just six rooms.
A 20-foot
drop has replaced the space where their kitchen, dining room, living
room and two bedrooms used to be. And a wall of tyres sits at the end
of the driveway to stop cars driving off the edge of the cliff. They
have lost their home and their business. They now live in a renovated
caravan and make their living selling doughnuts from the back of a van.
"It's
been terrible," said Mrs Arnold. "We never expected the coast
to disappear so quickly. It's now got to the point that another big
tide will wash away the rest of the house and possibly the caravan too.
"When
we moved here we hoped that we could make enough money to be able to
move away but we didn't make the money quickly enough and we became
stuck here. There comes a time when you just have to accept that it
is too dangerous to live here any more. It's at the stage where I dread
any bad weather, I panic when I see rain now because it could mean a
storm and that's bad news."
The couple
say that the problem of erosion intensified in the early 1990s when
a developer was given permission by the local council to build sea defences
along the coast.
The Arnolds
refused to sell their land to the developer, meaning that their property
was the only one not protected.
Mrs Arnold,
56, added: "In our opinion the defences were never going to work
and that's why we didn't sell the land. And we were right because they
have since fallen down. But when they were built it was a disaster for
us.
"The
experts say that about one foot falls off the cliffs every year, but
when those defences went up we sat and watched about 18 feet wash away
in 20 minutes. Because we were the only ones without a sea defence all
the water was channelled towards our house."
The couple
– who share their home with their daughter Katie, 30, and Mrs
Arnold's brother Alan Lead and his wife Cindy – are now waiting
to hear from the council what type of compensation they will be entitled
to.
A meeting
to discuss the matter is scheduled for March and Mr Arnold, 62, hopes
that they will finally be able to start planning for the future.
He said:
"At first we didn't like to think about moving away because this
has been our home for a long time. But we have accepted that it's inevitable
and we are ready to move, but we need somewhere to go.
It's not
like a normal house sale where we can sell our house and move on; who
is going to buy a house that will be gone in a few years? We need the
council to give us compensation or land as soon as possible so we can
move away from here."
A short walk
from the Arnolds' home, on Southfield Lane, takes you to Green Lane.
You can't take a car between the houses because there is a huge hole
in the middle of the road – another consequence of coastal erosion.
Walking down
mud track towards Green Lane gives you the feeling that the houses there
have already been condemned. The sign as you enter the street reads:
"Danger coastal erosion. Enter at your own risk."
Residents
of Green Lane have to use the back doors of their houses, as access
at the front is hampered by the road closure.
The row of
houses on the street hasn't always been right on the edge of the cliff
face. Before 1980 another row sat in front of them. Those houses have
since been washed away.
Valerie Robinson,
65, knows it won't be long before she, like those in the 1980s, is forced
to leave her home.
"Our
houses are about 100 feet away from the edge but it's getting closer
every year. I've lived here for the past 14 years and more of the coast
has washed away in the past two years than ever before. I can only see
it getting worse," she said.
"I remember
when I used to sit out in the garden and tourists would be envious of
our houses. They would tell me that if they won the pools they'd move
here. No one is saying that any more. No one wants to live here now.
When I bought the place I was told by the estate agent that it would
be here for 45 years. That was in 1993 and I don't give it another five
years before these houses are gone.
"We've
accepted that we will have to leave soon. We are just hoping we get
some good news in March with regards to the compensation and then we
can think about leaving."
Mrs Robinson's
daughter Wendy lives two doors down. She says she is one of the lucky
ones because she rents her property and isn't faced with losing her
only asset – the prospect her mother faces.
Wendy, 36,
said: "It's become a dangerous place to live. I have a 12-year-old
daughter and I'm forever warning her not to play out on the front. It's
a frightening thought what could happen. Only last week an old man was
blown over the edge. I only rent, so I'm lucky in that sense, but if
the council offered me another house tomorrow I would take it. It used
to be lovely living here, 'Millionaires' Row' they used to call it.
It's disgusting now and we just want to get out.
"We
feel like we have been forgotten about. We are right on the coast, our
houses about to fall into the sea, and it seems like no one cares."
Michael Kitchen,
a neighbour, echoes her sentiments. Mr Kitchen, 65, has been visiting
the village for 50 years and has lived there for the past 12.
He said:
"We first started becoming really concerned about coastal erosion
in November 2006 and since then I've written letters to everyone: the
council, Defra, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, the list goes on.
"It's
the same story though. They say they are discussing it, but no one seems
interested in protecting this coastline. It's been more than 20 years
since the last row of houses went into the sea and since then we have
all been waiting for ours to be next.
"I've
been on a deferred list for a council house for the past six years.
Every year they ask me if I would like them to find me a new house and
every year I say no. This year I'm going to say yes.
"The
way this coastline is eroding, the next lot of houses will go a lot
quicker than we all first thought. We've to make other plans.
"When
the last lot of houses went in the 1980s it was just a handful of people
that lost their homes. This time we are talking about a small community
that is going to disappear.
"This
erosion won't stop at our house. It will eat into the village and before
you know it Skipsea will be gone."
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