Happisburgh replacement car park plan delayed over traffic

Happisburgh Parish Council (HPC) wants permission to create a new facility further inland than the current site, with a new access track off the village's Lighthouse Lane.   

But North Norfolk District Council’s planning committee has decided it needs more information about transport issues that could arise from the scheme and to explore how the impact on locals could be minimised.  

HPC 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. 

The homes along Beach Road (Image: Stuart Anderson)

Locals say the proposed new access off Lighthouse Lane would cause traffic problems and that alternative sites should be considered. 

Addressing the planning committee, HPC chairman David Mole, said: “If we lose the car park it will be a blow to the village.  

“It’s not a perfect solution, we have had to do it this way. 

“We will not be increasing the size of the car park, we will not be making more money.  

“It is maintaining a very useful asset. People want to come to the coast, they come by car. If they don’t have a car park they will be all over the place.” 

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

But Paul Sanders, an objecting speaker, spoke of his “dismay” at the plans saying the “plight of unfortunate residents” was not being considered. 

“For much of the year, these residents will be subjected to the chaos of vehicles converging from multiple directions, right next to their homes,” he said. 

Members of the committee echoed residents’ concerns, with Dr Victoria Holliday saying she was “not comfortable in the least” with the plans and the impact on the community. 

The application was deferred with 10 votes in favour.