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'Village of the damned' to be lost to the sea

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Vanguard of Truth
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« on: February 17, 2016, 01:43:18 am »

'Village of the damned' to be lost to the sea
Posted on Friday, 12 February, 2016



Fairbourne has been all but abandoned to its inevitable fate. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 SMJ
The picturesque coastal village of Fairbourne in Wales is to be swallowed up by rising sea levels.
For some time now scientists have been warning us about the possible consequences of global warming - most notable of which being a rise in sea levels fueled by the melting of the ice caps.

Low-lying coastal regions will be most at risk over the next few decades, but for one small village on the west coast of Wales, the worst case scenario has all but happened already.

Home to around 1100 people, Fairbourne resides right at the edge of the sea and now the local council, fearing that its existing defenses will be insufficient to stem rising sea levels, has decided that the entire village should be decommissioned and simply abandoned to the waves.

The plan has been universally condemned by the village's residents who have since nicknamed the place "the village of the damned" due to the fact that it has now become almost impossible to sell houses there and no businesses want to invest money in the area.

"In the medium term over the next 50 years plans have to have been put in place and implemented to abandon defences and for the people to relocate," the council wrote.

"Even in attempting to defend people this risk is such that should defences be overtopped, or worse still breached, then the consequences would be immense and put people’s lives at risk."

Efforts to challenge the decision and to claim compensation from the council are now ongoing.

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Vanguard of Truth
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« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2016, 01:44:35 am »

Residents living in 'village of the damned' consider legal action against plans to abandon it to the sea

    14:53, 12 Feb 2016
    Updated 15:04, 12 Feb 2016
    By Darren Devine

Gweynedd council said it will be better in the long-term to "decommission" the village of Fairbourne and move people out

    23 shares Comments

Peter Trimming/Creative Commons
The village of Fairbourne is to be left to the mercy of the sea under council plans

Families in a Welsh coastal resort say they are living in the “village of the damned” as they have been left trapped in homes abandoned to the sea by the authorities.

Residents in Fairbourne, Cardigan Bay, are preparing for a lengthy legal tussle with Gwynedd council over the plans to “decommission” the village and see its streets swallowed by the Irish Sea.

Villagers have dismissed the plans, based on the idea the area simply can’t be protected from coastal erosion and rising sea levels, as “nonsensical”.

Reports suggest they want compensation over attempts to move them.
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« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2016, 01:45:14 am »



The village of Fairbourne is to be left to the mercy of the sea under council plans
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« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2016, 01:45:34 am »

Village to be decommissioned

Gwynedd council’s plans would see the village of 500 homes go through ‘managed realignment’ before being ‘decommissioned’ after the sea defences are abandoned in 40 years.

More: Abandoned to the sea - the fate facing more than 50 Welsh communities

Locals say the plan has made Fairbourne the “village of the damned” with falling house prices and businesses struggling for long-term investment.

They take issue with the assumption guiding the plan – that sea levels will rise by more than a metre in the next century,

Campaigner Pete Cole told the Daily Mail the council was relying on an “aggressive model” not used on other stretches of the coastline.
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« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2016, 01:46:06 am »



Other forecasts predict the rise will be only half as much – and by just 20cms to 30cms in the next 50 years.

Mr Cole said: “We have been hurt by the actions of the agencies who adopted these plans without thinking of the ramifications.”
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« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2016, 01:46:22 am »

Legal action brewing

The village’s 1,100 residents are now clubbing together to pay for legal action and say they have already got 10% of the amount they need to hire a barrister.

More: Abandoning coastal communities could cost Wales billions in tourism revenue

Built in around 1900 the village’s first properties were constructed on land reclaimed from the sea and are only just above sea level.

The sea defences protecting the village from the fate the council feel is inevitable were built in the 19th century.

A council document laying out the planned changes suggests trying to defend the village could ultimately put people’s lives at risk.

It reads: “In the medium term over the next 50 years plans have to have been put in place and implemented to abandon defences and for the people to relocate. In the long term defences would not be maintained.

“It is possible to increase the levels of defences. The embankment could be raised, shingle could be brought in to defend the shoreline, and pumps could be installed to deal with increased rainfall.

“This would incur very significant cost with ongoing increase in costs.

“Even in attempting to defend people this risk is such that should defences be overtopped, or worse still breached, then the consequences would be immense and put people’s lives at risk.”

WalesOnline
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« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2016, 01:46:35 am »

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/residents-living-village-damned-consider-10879413
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