Couple who sold their home to buy a £30,000 Norfolk clifftop plot of land to open a campsite are laughed at by the local council – who say it will fall into the sea if anyone stays on it

A couple whose dreams of opening a coastal campsite were ‘shattered’ when they were told it could fall into the sea have complained that the planning officer ‘laughed’ at their plans.

Phil Merry and his wife Amy Parkinson were left devastated when they received the bombshell news that they would not be able to move to Trimingham, Norfolk.

They had already arranged the sale of their Nottingham bungalow and Mr Merry had begun winding down his locksmith business.

In a harrowing meeting with North Norfolk District Council, they said they were spoken to by a ‘trainee planning officer’ whose colleague could be heard giggling in the background.

They now face living in a travel trailer while desperately exploring their options.

‘HE [the trainee planning officer] I didn’t know what to say. Mr. Merry, 42, would remain silent and someone would whisper to him with every question I asked him.

‘I could hear someone in the background laughing and saying “No chance” and “No, no, no”.’

Last month, after the couple paid a £50 fee, the phone call ended with the intern saying ‘the site was at risk of falling or coastal erosion and they would not allow any building to be built’.

‘I am shattered. This would be our escape. ‘Our plans have completely fallen through,’ added Mr Merry.

The 42-year-old wife, a sole trader and a self-employed landscape gardener, had planned to escape the hustle and bustle by moving to the picturesque spot overlooking the North Sea.

They had seen other caravans and a brick house positioned much closer to the cliff edge than their homes and businesses, although the sand and clay coastline is notorious for dramatic erosion.

They also didn’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on a planning application without knowing they owned the land, so they went ahead with the £30,000 purchase.

Their confidence was boosted by documentation showing that only 16 ft of land had been lost at sea since 1997; official documents showed that the front end of their land (actually 65 ft from the cliff face) would only be at risk until 2065.

They forked out the five-figure sum for the 0.7-acre plot before learning in a phone call with the planning department that their plan to live in a static caravan and set up five pitches for tents with access to toilets and showers had been rejected as a non-starter.

Mr Merry also said local ward councilor Angie Fitch-Tillet told him on the phone that he “needed to do his research first” and that he had “purchased land suitable for goat grazing only”.

‘We didn’t know about the general ban on new developments,’ said Mr Merry, who has been holidaying in the area with his family since he was born.

Couple complained council planning officer may have been laughing at their wishes during phone call

‘We bought a pig in one fell swoop, but this was supposed to be our little slice of heaven.’

The district council raised the issue of people buying at-risk properties at a recent inquiry into coastal erosion led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Coastal manager Rob Goodliffe told ministers that estate agents are not required to declare the risk of coastal erosion and potential buyers are expected to make ‘informed decisions’.

In October, estate agents were criticized by nearby Great Yarmouth Borough Council for failing to make clear that cliff-top homes selling for around £10,000 were in a location where properties had been demolished for health and safety reasons before falling into the sea.

District council executive director Natasha Hayes claimed some were sold for cash without a survey.

Mr Merry did not criticize Watsons, the estate agents who sold him his land, and said they had offered to ‘do whatever they could to get our money back’.

But he fears the value of the land will fall as commercial or other uses are now limited and he has already spent nearly £5,000 on fees and other costs.

Some of the money was spent on appointing a planning consultant to look at their situation but he already warned: ‘Don’t get any hopes up.’

The couple’s future is now uncertain as they have sold their home in Nottingham and will complete the deal next month. For now they will live in a traveling caravan

Trimingham – along with other spots on the Norfolk coast – is notorious for coastal erosion. Houses, including the house seen in the picture, were on the verge of destruction due to landslides

Mr Merry said the district council had also required ‘five different surveys’ to be carried out before any use of the land, at an estimated cost of around £6,000 – although ‘there is only scrub and a single conifer leaning at a 45 degree angle due to wind’.

Watsons said it provided customers with information about coastal erosion during the sales process and that Mr Merry’s land was marked as ‘pleasant land’.

Ms Fitch-Tillet admitted she had been ‘a bit blunt’ towards Mr Merry but explained that she wanted to explain the reality of her situation.

A district council spokesman added: ‘This part of the North Norfolk Coast has been eroding for thousands of years due to the movement of the sea and the impact of groundwater.

‘Erosion is not always identified or marked in the sales details or as part of the handling process.

‘We believe that coastal erosion is already considered ‘important information’ and that when properties are advertised for sale they should include information on erosion risk.

‘If a property owner believes they have been mis-sold, there are ways for this to be assessed further.’