Nothing can be done to save my £1m clifftop home from falling into the sea — an 88-year-old widow faces life in a tent as erosion closes in
Jean Flick, an 88-year-old widow, has lived in a clifftop home in Thorpeness, Suffolk, for 25 years, a property valued at about £1 million. Officials warn that if the cliff edge moves within five metres of the four-bedroom house, the building will have to be demolished. Flick says she is 'waiting in hope there’s no high tides.' She noted a severe storm the other night, but the house remains standing. Another home in the street was demolished in 2022. Flick had hoped sea defences could slow erosion, but she says she was told nothing will be done. She explains that machinery needed to build defences cannot access the foot of the cliffs.
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The five-metre danger line: when erosion reaches this close, demolition follows
The danger line is precise: if the cliff edge reaches within five metres of the four-bedroom house, the home must be demolished. Flick describes meetings with officials: 'we're more or less at the end' and 'it's a case of wait and see; they'll review it again in the new year.' She notes that another section of land has fallen away in recent weeks, and Storm Babet in 2023 ravaged the cliffs. The policy in the Shoreline Management Plan is managed realignment, which allows measures to slow erosion but does not stop it.
Blocked defences: why engineers can't reach the cliff's foot
Efforts to build sea defences are hampered because machinery cannot access the foot of the cliffs. 'The heavy machinery will damage the land coming up and they're not happy with that,' Flick says. 'They've got to come in down the bottom end and they can't get along with the machinery. We're more or less on our own and wait for the inevitable,' she adds. When asked if she hoped to stay as long as safely possible, she replied, 'Yes, that's what I'm hoping.'
A life built on the edge: memories, loss and an uncertain future
The house was built in 1928 and had five bedrooms, now four after one was turned into a sitting room for the sea view. Flick and her second husband bought the home for a fresh start after the death of her first husband from cancer; they were very happy there. Her second husband also died of cancer, and Flick says, 'my heart will just break' if that happens because it's my home. Storm Babet in 2023 ravaged the cliffs, and the coastline policy under the Shoreline Management Plan is managed realignment—measures that slow erosion but do not stop it. The property sits about two miles south of Sizewell, where a new nuclear power station is being built.
