Author: Allie Parsons, Customer Success Consultant, Landmark Information (Legal)
A recent article1 in the Observer newspaper questioned whether we are facing the imminent end of Coal as an energy source in Britain.
Looking back at where we have come from, UK coal production was around 70 million tonnes a year in the mid-18th century and rose to a peak of just under 300 million tonnes by 1913 according to the UK Government figures. Usage of the fossil fuel has however dropped as residential use has largely ended and just eight million tonnes was reportedly used by UK industry last year, with only two million supplied from UK sources.
Today, UK mining is virtually wiped out, having fallen from 3,000 mines at the peak to just 13 now, with coal representing approximately five per cent of overall annual energy usage.
From the heights of the industrial era, coal production instead leaves behind a significant and long-lasting legacy that will continue to have an impact on the country, well into the future. Ground stability poses a real hazard for properties located over or even near mine workings for decades to come and is important to consider when transacting properties.
I spoke to Phil Huddleston MRICS, a Director of PinPoint Coal Ltd and former Head of Mining Information at the Coal Authority to talk about what lawyers need to consider when undertaking ground stability due diligence on property transactions in these areas:
“Derbyshire is a tale of two coalfields, split by the Pennines. On the west side we have the old coal workings around New Mills and Whalley Bridge and on the east side the coals worked from Chesterfield in the north down to Ilkeston in the south.
“Today there is no underground coal mining in Derbyshire. The last coals were worked near Arkwright town – the village they moved2 from Markham Colliery, which closed in 1993. Markham was the biggest colliery in the former NCB North Derbyshire Area and the site has since been redeveloped into the Markham Vale Business Park. This includes a new intersection, Junction 29A, giving access to the M1 Motorway which runs at the side of the former colliery site.
“Although the mining has stopped it has left behind lots of potential problems that home owners and developers need to be aware of:
- Old mine shafts can collapse causing sudden and severe damage
- Old shallow workings that can collapse causing crown holes at the surface and resultant subsidence damage
- Old subsidence damage from deeper mining.
- The potential for settlement in areas that have been opencasted (quarried)
“In Derbyshire there are lots of these potential problem locations that make it still relevant today.
One lesser known risk is mine gases; heavier mine gases such as blackdamp (mainly Carbon Dioxide) really only present as a problem for people who try to enter old workings. Lighter gases, like methane, can and do make their way to the surface. Usually this is through man-made routes such as the shafts sunk to mine the coal.
“In many locations, this gas is now captured and used as an energy source, however there have been instances in the past where the gas has made its way to the surface through cracks in the rock left by the mining.
“One well-known example is Arkwright Town -located between Chesterfield and Bolsover, which was formerly a coal mining village. Arkwright Colliery closed in 1988 and it was then discovered that the community was threatened by emissions of methane gas, causing some of the houses to be evacuated.
“The whole village was owned by British Coal and a decision was taken, along with Derbyshire County Council to transfer ownership of the 52 properties to a housing trust, construct a new village to the north of the site affected by methane, and move all residents. The old Arkwright Town was subsequently demolished in 1995.
“This demonstrates that the legacy of mining can continue long after the coal has been worked, on the personal stress encountered by those affected.
“When buying a property in an area with a mining history, purchasers should be encouraged to look at mining reports to see if there have been any claims on the property, and if there have, to satisfy themselves that any damage has been repaired.
Concludes Phil: “They should also look to see whether the property has ever been notified under Section 46 subsidence legislation as this is a good indicator that the operator of the mine thought there would be subsidence.”
The new Landmark Coal Mining Report – powered by PinPoint – provides all the standard answers required by the Law Society together with (as appendices) additional information about mine entries and claims when they are reported. The reports are supported by professional opinion from a Chartered Minerals Surveyor.
While coal mining may be largely condemned to the history books, its after-effects leave behind a lasting legacy that certainly means it shall not be forgotten, and cannot be ignored.
https://www.landmark.co.uk/landmark-legal
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- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/09/is-this-the-end-for-king-coal-in-britain
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/feb/19/housingpolicy2
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