For a village that is gradually falling into the sea, it seems like a sensible idea.

But plans to create a 'rollback' car park in Happisburgh – which can be shifted inland as the sea advances – has seen public support crumbling.

Happisburgh Parish Council is seeking permission to create a new facility further from the sea than the current car park and build a new access track off Lighthouse Lane. 

The council insists the move is needed to address the creeping coastal erosion that would one day see the current facility, off Beach Road, fall into the waves. 

READ MORE: Plan for new car park between lighthouse and homes

Eastern Daily Press: The current car park in Happisburgh sits right on the cliff edgeThe current car park in Happisburgh sits right on the cliff edge (Image: Stuart Anderson)

But the new plans would see vehicles passing closer to the historic lighthouse with parking behind houses.

They have drawn significant ire from locals.

The proposed 3.2-acre site is currently green fields used for agriculture. 

Some 25 people have written letters of objection and a further 95 signed a petition against the plans, ahead of a North Norfolk District Council (NDC) planning meeting which is set to make a decision about the scheme. 

One objector said having the car park in the new location “is not making life very pleasant for us” due to the visual impact and it “needs to be properly thought through”. 

Eastern Daily Press: The new car park would be behind the houses on Beach RoadThe new car park would be behind the houses on Beach Road (Image: Stuart Anderson)

Another said Lighthouse Lane is too narrow to accommodate so many new cars and would be "extremely dangerous for pedestrians”. 

The person added: “There must be a more suitable place found for a new car park.” 

But planning officials at NNDC have dismissed local concerns and recommended the scheme for approval.  

They argue the scheme would not be visually harmful, with landscape 'buffers' screening the site. 

They added: “Whilst it is ultimately a matter of planning judgment, having regard to the existing car parking arrangements, officers are not persuaded that the impact on highway safety would be so severe as to justify refusal in this case.”