Living on the edge: Fight to get help for east coast residents affected by coastal erosion

THIS is all that remains of a coastal road that once linked Skipsea and Ulrome.

Now, residents in Skipsea can do nothing but watch as the cliff's edge inches closer to their homes.

When Jackie Bramhall, moved to Green Lane, six and a half years ago, there was a cliff top and a road between her home and the sea.

Now, she has been told she will have to demolish her home and move within the next two years.

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She said: "It's devastating. I get up every day and see land on the beach.

"My house cost me £85,000. I've been told it will cost £15,000 to demolish the house and reinstate the land

"It's disgusting. I thought I'd be here forever. I bought it as part of my retirement."

In the past six months, almost 22ft (7m) of coastline has been lost in some parts.

East Riding Council had been given a £1.2m Coastal Change Pathfinder fund from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which was used to help 35 households with practical assistance in dealing with demolishing their homes.

But the money from this funding is now all allocated.

Among those to benefit from the funding was Saffron Waghorn, who has lived on the Skipsea coast for 20 years.

She moved her fence and materials from the cliff edge on the new land through the summer. The sea is relentless, the land unstable and the weather mostly wet," she said."It is not a good combination.

"It's hard to wake up every morning to find another metre or two or three of your land slumped into a pile on the beach.

"I loved that little cliff-top development.

"The older people were really great and the atmosphere was amazing.

"It was a spiritual home to many people, who appreciated the very basic essentials of life, the things that mattered."

There is still a further £6,000 of funding available per uninsured property from Defra.

However, the council is continuing to fight for more help.

Councillor Jane Evison, portfolio holder for economic development, tourism and rural issues, said: "There is no complacency as this amount of funding is not sufficient to cover the real costs of demolition, let alone the additional costs of relocating elsewhere.

"As a priority, the council will now prepare an application to the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grants fund on the basis of the on-going risk faced by property owners on the East Riding coast.

"We have already arranged to meet the Environment Agency next month to confirm how the grant is being administered.

"Our coastal communities should be in no doubt that, while Coastal Pathfinder has been very useful, the council believes it is not enough to have this one-off project – rather Pathfinder should be the springboard for more support and funding recognising the real and continuing needs of people at risk."

A Defra spokesman confirmed the £6,000 was available, but said he would not comment on individual cases.