Coal Mining Risk Assessment, Dunvant
Introduction:
Our client was looking to sell their property in Dunvant with planning permission for a new development. However, the Local Planning Authority, in conjunction with the Coal Authority, identified a ‘fundamental concern’ over mining subsidence risks, and planning was refused.
We completed a Coal Mining Risk Assessment (CMRA) in accordance with the Coal Authority guidance and successfully demonstrated that the subsidence risk was low, to the satisfaction of the Coal Authority and Local Planning Authority, thus allowing the Client to obtain their planning permission, without the need for intrusive investigation.
Details:
The Penclawdd coal seam crops out alongside Killan Road in the Dunvant area of Swansea; this seam was heavily worked in the Dunvant area and a Coal Mining Risk Assessment was required. Coal Authority records suggested that the seam may have been worked beneath the site in the past. However, a comprehensive desk study based coal mining risk assessment demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Coal Authority and LPA that the seam cropped out on the other side of the road, and dipped away from the site, i.e. it was highly unlikely to be present beneath the site.
This project was one of many we have undertaken across the South Wales Coalfield where our decades of experience and good understanding of historical mining and mine workings have benefited the Client in facilitating the removal of planning conditions, without expensive intrusive investigation.