Coal Mining Risk Assessment
Understand whether historic coal mining could genuinely affect your proposed development before planning or design relies on assumptions.
Clear reviews the mining records, geology, historic information and available ground data against the proposed development. Where mining risks can be discounted, no mining-specific intrusive work is recommended. Where a material uncertainty remains, we define only the investigation needed to resolve it.
For the desk-based assessment. Intrusive investigation is only recommended where the records leave a material mining risk unresolved.
Separate mapped mining features from actual development risk
Review mine entries, shallow workings, former surface mining, recorded hazards and geological information to establish which features are relevant to the site.
Assess the risk against where and how you intend to build
A mining feature beneath landscaping may have a different significance from the same feature beneath a building, retaining wall, foundation or deep excavation.
Investigate only what remains uncertain
Where a mining risk cannot be discounted from the records, define the specific question that intrusive investigation needs to answer and target the work accordingly.
Being in a Development High Risk Area does not mean the whole site needs drilling.
For most forms of development within a Development High Risk Area, a Coal Mining Risk Assessment will usually be required to support the planning application. Its purpose is to identify the mining features that could affect the proposed development and decide whether any further investigation or mitigation is actually needed.
The significance of a mine entry, shallow working or other mining feature depends on where it is, what is proposed above it and what the existing evidence already tells us.
Start with the records. Drill only where the evidence points.
A Coal Mining Risk Assessment should narrow uncertainty before any drilling is proposed. We combine the mining records with the development layout and existing ground information to decide what, if anything, still needs to be proven.
Understand the proposed development
Review the site boundary, proposed layout, likely foundations, excavations and any existing ground investigation information.
Review the mining and geological evidence
Consider official coal mining records, mine entries, shallow workings, former surface mining, geology, historic mapping and available borehole data together.
Assess which mining features could affect the scheme
Test the mapped and inferred mining risks against the proposed development rather than treating the whole coalfield record as equally significant.
Define a proportionate next step
Where the evidence is sufficient, close the risk out. Where a material uncertainty remains, define targeted investigation, layout changes or mitigation needed to address it.
What can a Coal Mining Risk Assessment conclude?
We report what the evidence supports. Each outcome is a legitimate answer, and the first is often the most valuable.
No further mining-specific investigation is needed
Where the available evidence shows that coal mining features do not present a material risk to the proposed development, no further mining-specific intrusive work will be recommended.
Targeted investigation is justified
Where a mine entry, shallow working or other mining feature cannot be discounted and could affect the development, we define the locations and questions that further investigation needs to address.
Mining features need to influence the development
Where a confirmed or credible mining feature affects the proposed layout, we explain how it should inform design, avoidance, mitigation or the next stage of geotechnical assessment.
A clear mining risk position for planning and design.
The report brings the mining records, geology and proposed development together so the project team can see where mining risk matters and where it does not.
Explore when coal mining needs further investigation, how targeted ground investigation works and how desk-based evidence is used to narrow uncertainty.
A recent project.
What this looked like on a real site, and what the client could do as a result.
Targeting mining investigation to the parts of the site that could affect the scheme.
For a proposed school redevelopment near Mexborough, Clear reviewed mining records, geology and historic borehole information to distinguish localised higher-risk areas from the remainder of the site. This gave the project team a basis for targeting any further mining investigation rather than assuming a site-wide drilling programme was required.
Read the case study →Read more on this.
Plain-English guides from our insights, written for developers, buyers and their advisers.
Coal Mining Risk Assessments for Planning: When Is Further Investigation Needed?
A practical guide to Coal Mining Risk Assessments for planning, including Development High Risk Areas, desk-based assessment and when further investigation is justified.
Phase 2 Site Investigation Explained – Methods and Outcomes
Discover methods like trial pits and boreholes with timescales, and how Phase 2 builds on Phase 1 to manage land contamination risks effectively.
What is a Phase 1 Desk Study (Preliminary Risk Assessment)?
What a Phase 1 Desk Study involves, when it is needed for planning or due diligence, and how it identifies contaminated land risks early.
Common questions.
When is a Coal Mining Risk Assessment required?
For most forms of development within a Coal Authority Development High Risk Area, a Coal Mining Risk Assessment will usually be required to support the planning application.
Get a quote for your site.
Send us the address and what you’re planning. A senior consultant will reply with a quote and the right first step, usually within one working day.