More than £25 million worth of coastal homes in Sussex could be lost to the sea by 2100, according to a climate action group.

One Home identified 21 at-risk villages and hamlets and estimated how much coast could be lost there assuming that current policies on whether to defend, retreat or abandon sections of coastline are followed.

Fairlight and Cliff End, two villages near Hastings, were deemed some of the most at-risk areas.

It is predicted that up to 196 metres of the coast there could be lost to the sea by 2100. 

One Home used data from the Environment Agency’s national coastal erosion risk mapping (NCERM) dataset.

Policies on whether to defend, retreat or abandon sections of coast are contained in shoreline management plans (SMPs), developed by coastal groups with members from local councils and the Environment Agency.

The value of property damages, on the land that could be hit by coastal erosion by 2100, was estimated at £584 million using average local authority values or site-specific values from Rightmove, One Home said.

The group has compiled a map highlighting what shoreline management plans are in place in different areas of coast, and what the level of protection is.

In Fairlight and Cliff End, estimated property damages by 2100 are more than £26 million. It is predicted that as many as 43 properties could be lost to the sea in these villages.

 “Sea levels are rising as global temperatures soar and so larger waves batter our coast during severe storms,” said Angela Terry, chief executive of One Home.

“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.

“Shoreline management plans are publicly available documents but most people are unaware of their existence.

“Many homeowners don’t know their properties are at risk or that decisions have been made about whether to protect them or not.

“SMPs are not statutory, so new developments can continue.

“Funding is not guaranteed so even where communities have been chosen to be saved, the money might not be there, giving people false hope that their home will be protected long-term.

“One Home’s aim with this map is to explain SMPs in an easy-to-digest way so that homeowners are sufficiently informed to make timely decisions about their properties to reduce future harm.

“Currently, for those homes at risk, there is no compensation scheme available.

“Owners might be asked to pay to demolish their homes while still paying their mortgage.”

More than a third of England’s coastline has a designation of “no active intervention”, One Home said, meaning that nothing will be done.

The other two levels of protection in SMPs are “hold the line”, meaning that defences will be maintained and upgraded if funding is found, and “managed realignment” which involves moving or allowing the shoreline to retreat in a managed way.