Up to 200,000 coastal homes could be lost to sea in 30 years

ALMOST 200,000 homes and businesses in England are at risk of being lost to rising sea levels by the 2050s, around five times more than previously believed, a study suggests.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have said up to 195,000 properties along the English coast could be destroyed by the 2050s, compared with previous estimates of 30 to 35,000.

The study looked at how many English properties will be threatened by coastal flooding – specifically, those where improving defences to protect them would be too costly or difficult.

By 2050, mean sea levels around England are forecast to rise by about 35cm, as rising temperatures melt glaciers and ice caps.

The study predicted the worst hit locations will be North Somerset – which could lose more than 30,000 properties by 2080 – Wyre, in Lancashire, and Swale in Kent. The study was led by Paul Sayers, an expert on flood and coastal risks at University of East Anglia and advisor to the Government’s climate change committee, which has predicted a further 100,000 homes will be lost to coastal erosion as a result of rising sea levels.

The study said that England faces a “transformational challenge” as a result of climate change impacting coast lines, but that there is a “lack of clarity as to how this transition will be made, particularly when it would impact communities”.

It comes after Sir James Bevan, the head of the Environment Agency, warned that some seaside communities would be forced to move because of coastal erosion that was too expensive to try to defend against. “There is no coming back for land that coastal erosion has taken away or that a rising sea level has put permanently or frequently under water,” he said.

The study is published today in the journal Oceans and Coastal Management.