But for the man responsible for overseeing the management of the Broads for a quarter of a century, natural forces will soon have to be allowed to reclaim parts of the landscape.

John Packman, who is about to step down as chief executive of the Broads Authority, has warned climate change is "already biting" in the waterways and that swathes of land will have to be given up to be used as floodplains.

To protect homes in the upper reaches from major flooding, areas around Breydon Water and along the Waveney valley and Lower Bure could be reclaimed to help absorb rising water levels from the encroaching North Sea and from rivers breaking their banks.

Flooding in Martham in 2023 (Image: Mike Page)

Parts of the landscape, which Dr Packman says are already gradually sinking, may again start to resemble the vast estuary it was 2,000 years ago, before rivers were rerouted, drainage channels dug and windmills built to pump out the water.

Dr Packman made the comments as part of a wide-ranging interview to mark his departure, in which he revealed what he thought would be the biggest challenges for his successor, with the threat of climate change among the most significant.

Villages in the Broads have suffered extensive flooding in recent years (Image: Mike Page)

Over the next 100 years, sea levels are predicted to rise by up to a metre, which would put much of the low-lying wetlands underwater.

Dr Packman said: "We cannot stop these changes happening. It is about how you adapt to it and manage the rate of change and mitigate the impact on the Broads system. Climate change is already biting hard.

"We are surrounded by flood plains and in the lower reaches of rivers, we will have to give up areas of land so that when there are big flooding events, water has somewhere to go.

"There will be some things that will be similar to the Roman times."

John Packman drives a ranger launch, leaving Berney Arms and heading towards Yarmouth yacht station, while wearing his trademark bush hat (Image: Owen Sennitt)

The issue of rising water levels on the Broads has been an increasingly pressing one in recent winters with repeated flooding affecting many riverside villages.

There have been flood alerts on the waterways in recent days, underlining the immediacy of the threat, while an incursion of saline water - when sea water is forced into the rivers by a combination of wind and tide conditions - killed thousands of fish last month.

People worry the Bure Hump is silting up, restricting the flow of water but........

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