An 88-year-old widow living in a clifftop home in Thorpeness, Suffolk, has been told that nothing can be done to prevent her property from being lost to coastal erosion. Jean Flick, who has lived in the house for 25 years, said she has been advised to prepare for demolition and is now waiting in hope that high tides do not force an early end.
Ms Flick, who is from a farming family, said she had hoped that sea defences could be built at the foot of the cliffs to slow the erosion, but was told that heavy machinery could not access the site without damaging the land. “We were more or less told nothing will be done and we can’t do anything,” she said. “We’ve had the chap round to look at the demolition, and… he says we’re more or less at the end.”
The property, built in 1928, originally had five bedrooms, now four after one was converted into a sitting room to enjoy the sea view. Ms Flick said another section of land had fallen away in recent weeks, and she has been told that if the cliff edge reaches within five metres of the house, the property will have to be demolished. “Your home is gone and it’s just devastating really,” she said.
Ms Flick, who remarried in 1999 after the death of her first husband, bought the home with her second husband for a fresh start. Both husbands died of cancer. She said she hopes to stay as long as it is safe, but added: “You might see me in a caravan or a tent up on the common.”
The Shoreline Management Plan for the area, developed by agencies including the Environment Agency, recommends managed realignment, meaning measures that slow but do not stop erosion. Another home in the same street was demolished in 2022. Ms Flick said Storm Babet in 2023 “really ravaged” the cliffs, and she is now waiting for a review in the new year.
