Sub Surface provide Coal Mining Risk Assessment Reports individually or as part of a Phase 1 Desktop Study, assessing the possible risk to public safety, of ground instability and subsidence due to Coal Mining. Our Reports are ready to be sent directly to your Local Authority, to support your Planning Application.
Do I Need A Coal Mining Risk Assessment?
Eleven per cent of Britain sits on a coalfield and therefore, as part of the Planning Application, any site located within a Coal Mining Area requires a Coal Authority Mining Report.
Is my site within a Coal Mining Area?
If the Coal Mining Report indicates that there is a possible risk to public safety or of ground instability and subsidence, or if we believe there is a potential for unrecorded mines beneath the site or mine entries, a Coal Mining Risk Assessment will be required. Some counties which may possibly require a Coal Mining Risk Assessment include areas within Greater Manchester, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, West Midlands, etc.
It should be noted that it did not become a statutory requirement to maintain and preserve plans of abandoned mines until the Mines (Coal) Regulations Act of 1872. Therefore many sites may have coal workings in shallow seams not recorded by the Coal Authority.
Coal Mining Risk Assessment Reports
A Coal Mining Risk Assessment is a desk based report. Published geological survey sheets and a Coal Authority Mining Report are analysed, to identify the presence of coal mining risks potentially present beneath the site. ‘Coal mining risks may include:
- Mine entries (shafts, adits, bell pits, etc)
- Shallow coal workings (recorded and potential)
- Workable coal seam outcrops
- Mine gas sites and areas
- Recorded coal mining related hazards
- Geological features (faults, fissures and break lines)
- Former surface mining sites (historic opencast extraction method)1’
The findings of the report will determine whether the site is categorised as a Low Risk site, with no further work required, or a High Risk site where a rotary borehole investigation / trial trenching Site Investigation, etc. may be required followed by a Ground Stability Assessment.
1 The Coal Authority: Risk based approach to development management. Version 4 – 2017
Whom to Contact
If you would like a quote for a Coal Mining Risk Assessment individually or as part of a Desktop Study, or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Regional Sub Surface Office.
