Sand ‘postcard’ to Rishi Sunak drawn on UK beach as erosion threat to areas living ‘on the edge’ are ‘ignored’

A giant sand sculpture ‘postcard’ has been drawn on a UK beach to the Prime Minister to draw attention to homes that are “on the edge” and “living with the risk of devastation” due to climate change.

The arts organisation Sand In Your Eye created the 60m by 40m sculpture on Skegness beach in Lincolnshire on Tuesday (18 July).

Members of the community added messages around the postcard, including ‘Stop single-use plastic’, ‘Stop Oil’, ‘Help’, ‘Save us’ and ‘Carbon Tax’ - which added to the size of the sculpture.

Altogether the ‘postcard’ spanned 150m by 70m of the beach north of Skegness Pier.

Naomi Luhde-Thompson, director of Rights Community Action (RCA), a climate collective involved in the creation of the sculpture, said “no one is paying attention to communities like Skegness” including the government and they have “been ignored”.

RCA claims that Skegness is one of several areas of the UK that “live with the risk of devastation” to their homes and businesses due to climate change and has called on the government to take action.

Ms Luhde-Thompson said: “These are places on the edge, living with the impacts of the climate crisis, that is here and happening now.

“The people of Skegness have been adding their contributions to this postcard to Rishi. They’ve been ignored long enough.”

She added that the government must “change the law on climate change and planning” so “these communities can be saved.”

A new map, designed by the #WeAreHere climate campaign, shows that Skegness and several other areas of Lincolnshire are some of the most vulnerable in the UK to the impact of climate change.

Amendments tabled by members of the House of Lords have pressed the government to give local councils the power to take their own measures to protect against climate change.

RCA is now urging the government to accept these amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill as it could help areas at risk of flooding protect themselves.

RCA said the current planning policy was “inadequate” and added that “investment falls far short of what is required”.

It comes after One Home warned at the start of the year that homes worth up to £600 million in England could be at risk of being lost to the sea by 2100.

Angela Terry, chief executive of One Home, said: “Sea levels are rising as global temperatures soar and so larger waves batter our coast during severe storms. These irreversible changes mean some cliff faces are crumbling fast.

“We can’t turn the tide or build a wall around the entire coast so we urgently need to help seaside communities to prepare for the damage that will come.”

The government recently released its National Adaptation Plan on Monday (17 July) containing a five-year plan that ministers said would boost the country’s resilience to climate change and help protect people, homes and businesses from heat waves, droughts and floods.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said adaptations would include building new flood defences, planning for more green spaces and building infrastructure that could withstand changes to the climate, such as extreme heat and flooding.

But the plan has been slammed by climate activists who have branded it as “lacklustre” and a “foot-dragging” exercise.

The Climate Change Committee said it is “disappointed” as it is “not a plan containing extensive new commitments” and after “another summer of gruelling hot temperatures, water shortages and wildfires, it’s hard to make sense of that decision.”