North Norfolk community voices heard in Parliamentary inquiry on coastal erosion

Date published: 29th July 2026

In October 2025, Coastwise, on behalf of North Norfolk District Council and lots of community representatives, submitted written evidence to a Parliamentary Committee Inquiry.

This Inquiry into Climate Adaptation and Emergency Response in England was partly aimed at better understanding how coastal erosion impacts communities.

This is an example of some of the work that Coastwise does to build national awareness and learning about the impacts of coastal erosion, the need for adaptation and potential ways to prepare for accelerating coastal change.

About the inquiry

The inquiry was led by the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) and focused on the UK's ability to adapt and build resilience to climate-related risks.

The call for evidence encompassed coastal erosion, emergency service and local authority capability, landslide risk, and the ability of current systems to protect people, communities, and historic sites from climate-related events.

Evidence submitted

65 pieces of written evidence were submitted nationally on the specific subject of landslides and coastal erosion from different organisations and people representing many places around England's coast.

Many of these spoke directly of the experiences and plight of communities in North Norfolk, voices which were keenly heard in the inquiry and Rob Goodliffe, Coastal Manager for North Norfolk District Council, was one of six people subsequently invited to give evidence to the Committee in person at the Houses of Parliament on the 18^th November 2025. You can watch the session here.

Erosion of trust: the impact of coastal erosion on communities

The inquiry process then involves the Committee considering all written and oral evidence and publishing a report of its findings.

The report for this inquiry was published in March 2026 and entitled, 'Erosion of trust: the impact of coastal erosion on communities'.

The report explains that the Committee found that accelerating coastal erosion causes severe physical, financial, and psychological damage, and that current national systems fail affected populations.

Key recommendations include reforming funding for adaptation and relocation, enhancing transparency regarding property risks, and elevating coastal erosion to a cross-government priority.

The Committee recommendations, summarised:

Full range of human impacts should be recognised in spending decisions and policy making
A 'defined approach' is needed for consulting and engaging with affected communities
Conveyancing must include mandatory disclosure of coastal erosion risk
State-backed insurance for properties at risk
Update Assistance Grants value and criteria
A long-term national strategy needed to support relocation
Capital investment should reflect social impacts

The Government response

Parliamentary inquiries like this are followed by a Government response, which for this enquiry was published on 22^nd June, 2026.

What did the Committee think of this response?

After a government responds to a parliamentary committee inquiry, the committee reviews the response to determine if the proposed actions are satisfactory.

Depending on their assessment, the committee may hold further evidence sessions with ministers, publish a follow-up report, or track the government's progress over time

The Committee found that whilst two of the cross-party Committee's recommendations are taken up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the majority are dismissed. EFRA Committee Chair Alistair Carmichael MP stated, in his response to Government:

"The tone of the Government's response fails to appreciate the emotional turmoil and real physical jeopardy that many coastal communities face...

"We will put more questions to the Government on its attitude and approach to these matters soon, and continue to make the moral case for why these communities deserve greater support."

Voices heard and what next?

Thank you to everybody who took the time and effort to highlight the coastal erosion issue in North Norfolk via this inquiry. This is an illustration of local voices being heard in Government – all were considered and some are directly referenced in the report.

These contributions added substantial weight of evidence in this inquiry overall.

Coastwise was already working on a number of the recommendations, doing nationally relevant work on insurance and conveyancing and feeding into the review of the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant, for example (the latter has since been updated).

As and when progress is made, updates will be provided on this web page and shared amongst our networks and with relevant policy and decision-makers.

Links to more details:

Last updated: 29th July 2026