'Dangerous' rock pyramid was meant to protect village

A Suffolk community blighted by erosion is looking to move potentially "dangerous" rock defences to a new location to bolster protection from the sea.

Thorpeness, which has been a holiday hotspot for more than a century, has seen more than 10 homes torn down this year due to erosion.

A resident-led community interest company, called Thorpeness CIC, is now hoping to make better use of a rock barrier installed in 2021 on the northern end of the village as an emergency intervention.

It follows East Suffolk Council's permission for the removal of the sea defences during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday at a cost of up to £500,000.

Mark Packard, the council's lead for coastal management, said the sandy cliff behind the rocks had eroded, meaning the "isolated" rocks did not provide much of a defence any more.

He added that they had become dangerous, in the "admittedly unlikely" event one of the rocks slid off and crushed someone.

"Those rocks are now sitting there on their own," he said.

"Behind the rocks it's all been eroded away, and it is standing like a pyramid now, so it is a real issue."

The move follows a report by Moffat and Nichol, an engineering consultancy, which showed removing the layer of rocks would also release trapped sediment and allow it to move naturally along the beach, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The village is facing an erosion crisis with the cliff along North End Avenue having lost 25-30m in the past 12 months.

Dennis Skinner, a director at Thorpeness CIC, said the group was in active discussions with the council about moving the rocks to a separate location along the beach.

He said the group had commissioned engineers to look at options and suggested the defences could be moved to extend existing rocks installed in March as emergency relief.

The council said it needed to move the rocks to a secure location ahead of the winter weather, but would be "as flexible as we can" in welcoming suggestions from the community.

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