People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem.
In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their
horror, that their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea
eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts
were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether,
sliding sown the cliff and into the sea.
Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a
problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have
had to be abandoned ad the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have
studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people,
forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea.
Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their
homes.Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is
impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would
merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem
from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves
reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile,
if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in
one of the threatened ares on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a
knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.