Dilemma over sea level rises

The government faces "very difficult decisions" concerning the course of action it will take over sea level rises, a government minister has warned.

Speaking during a BBC Radio 4 broadcast, environment minister Phil Woolas said the Labour administration is not going to leave significant areas of land in the east of England to flooding, the East Anglian Daily Times reports.

He commented: "There has been a lot of unnecessary worry caused by some of the speculation but the government is not going to abandon large areas. We are thinking about the margins - what we defend and what we don’t defend."

Mr Woolas then admitted that difficult decisions had to be made concerning the issue.

In specific reference to a number of properties in the north of Norfolk, he said £35 million would be required to protect them from flooding, adding this posed a "tricky dilemma" for the government.

Meanwhile, the East Anglian Daily Times reported last month that a paper published by the environment executives behind Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty suggested that sea level rise is the most important issue currently affecting local communities.