Coal Mining Searches
Coal mining searches are considered by property professionals to be vital for anyone buying property in any coal mining area in Britain. The Coal Authority holds and maintains the national coal mining database and its Mining Reports Service provides a fast, accurate, property-specific and cost-effective coal mining search service for any individual property or site in Scotland, England or Wales.
The mining search includes information about any past, current or proposed surface and underground coal mining activity to affect a particular property or site. It also includes further property specific information about the existence of old shallow coal workings, old shafts and other entrances to mines, coal mining related ground fractures, subsidence damage claims, mine gas emissions and emergency call-out surface hazard incidents.
The Society has published Guidance Notes for their members, which give more detailed information about their scheme for coal mining searches.
Practitioners can quickly establish whether a coal mining search is required by either:
- Referring to the Gazetteer of Scotland, which gives an indication of places that may, or may not, require a coal mining search to be carried out, or alternatively.
- Using the Coal Authority's On-Line Post-Code Referral Service at http://www.coalminingreports.co.uk/ which provides immediate on-line confirmation on entering a property post-code as to whether a search is necessary or not. By its nature, this electronic referral system is more precise than using the Directory listing of place names.
For those practitioners not using the Authority’s on-line service to order searches, the mining search enquiry should be made using the ScotForm (2006) Coal Mining Search Form, which is approved by the Society and the Coal Authority.
The Coal Authority's Scale of Charges lists current charges incurred when ordering coal mining reports and related services.
From Summer 2006, the Coal Authority, in collaboration with the British Geological Survey, and in consultation with the Society, is to introduce a more comprehensive Ground Stability Search. This will include information about natural subsidence hazards (shrinkable clay, running sand, compressible and collapsible deposits, landslide potential and soluble rocks) as well as coal and related mineral workings. Further information, including updated Guidance Notes, will be made available to practitioners in the weeks leading up to the introduction of this additional service.
Conveyancing Committee Secretary: James Ness 0131 476 8174
