Thanks to Happisburgh lobby group
(Eastern Daily Press, 05 May 2009)
Coastal dwellers from across the country were among those who gathered in Happisburgh at the weekend to mark the 10th birthday of a leading lobby group and to thank the people of the Norfolk clifftop village for their years of support.
An evening meeting was held in St Mary's church on Friday to formally celebrate the Coastal Concern Action Group's decade of operation, followed by various events through the weekend. The actual date of the anniversary fell last month.
Speakers included local representatives such as Happisburgh tea shop and homeowner Di Wrightson, North Norfolk District Council's coast protection engineer Brian Farrow, Happisburgh district councillor Clive Stockton and North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb.
But some of the most striking words came from those who had travelled to Norfolk from afar, including from Sussex and Kent, where communities have linked up with Happisburgh - in particular CCAG - for help and support in their battle with coastal erosion, rising sea levels, climate change and government inaction.
Brigitte Bass, from Romney Marsh in East Sussex, who is a member of the Defend Our Coast Association (DOC), said: "We have come along to show our unequivocal support for the people of Happisburgh and CCAG.
"They have been instrumental in helping us set up our own group - they set the framework for us and for many other communities.
"We simply could not have done what we needed to do for our own communities without CCAG."
Roland O'Brien, from the Save Our Selsey campaign in West Sussex, said: "Being here is about showing support for each other and to express our thanks for the huge amounts of support we have had from Happisburgh and CCAG over the years,"
CCAG coordinator Malcolm Kerby said he was "deeply indebted" to those who had travelled to Norfolk for the weekend.
"It's of great help to everyone in Happisburgh to hear first hand from other communities who have been catapulted into the same situation of potentially losing their homes with no social justice - it's direct ore evidence that we not alone."