The Disappearance of a Community in Skipsea
Homes in Skipsea are sitting precariously on the Yorkshire East Riding coastline which has been reported as the fastest eroding coastline in Europe.
On entering Skipsea you are met with a sign of “Danger – Enter at your own risk” and just ahead there is a huge hole in the middle of the road just in case you missed the sign!
With just a population of some 600 residents many have now made their new years resolution to leave the village before their homes are washed into the sea along with others that have already met that fate.
The coastline is estimated to be losing an average of 18 inches a year and the council have stated they expect at least 13 homes will disappear over the next five years with a further 78 likely to join them in the sea by 2058.
One couple who are about to lose their dream home of 19 years is Josephine and Colin Arnold who are being driven out by the ever decreasing coastline.
In the time they have been there they have seen land where once stood a campsite complete with caravans and cottages being washed away by the sea and last years frequent storms led to them having to demolish their home by reducing the 11 room farmhouse to just six rooms.
Where there kitchen, dining, living and two bedrooms used to be there is now a 20 foot drop and a wall of tyres sits at the end of the driveway to stop cars accidentally falling of the edge of the cliff into the sea.
Mrs Arnold said “It’s been terrible. 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.”
She added that “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.”
Between the Arnold’s home on Southfield Lane and Green Lane, there is no access for a car because there is a huge hole right in the middle of the road caused by coastal erosion. All the houses on those roads have signs that read ‘Danger Coastal Erosion. Enter at your own risk.’
No Way in by the Front Doors
People who live in these houses have to now use their back doors because their front doors are cut off due to the road closure. This particular road once had another row of houses on the other side before 1980 but they have since been washed away into the sea.
Michael Kitchen who has been a visitor to the village for 50 years and had spent the last 12 years living there commented that “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.”
For the past six years, Mr Kitchen has been asked by the council if they want to find him a new home and every year he’s said ‘no’! This year he has said that he will say yes!
The coastline of Skipsea is slowing taking away the land inch by inch and its not just homes that will be lost but a whole community will disappear as if it’s never been there.
