Clive,
I provide this response as a point of clarity as environmental search reports frequently take a bashing in this forum.
Residential conveyancing environmental searches are principally concerned with the matter of statutory designation of Contaminated Land, or the potential for this in the future. Any such report purchased from GroundSure on a former mining site would recommend further due diligence from an environmental liability perspective, regardless of the physical position of a mine shaft and the ground stability issues concerning this.
GroundSure's residential conveyancing report also includes details relating to:
Coal Mining - is the property within an area where a formal mining search via the Coal Authority is required
Mining features identified through the GroundSure Historical Land Use Database
Potential for shallow mining features - information from BGS
Mining cavity features - information from Peter Brett Associates
Not necessarily a definitive yes/no on mining features on the subject property but a robust view on the potential for mining to be an issue and hence whether a formal Coal Authority search (and/or other actions) may be necessary. Not bad for £36.60 I am sure you will agree.
I would have expected this issue to be raised regardless of an environmental search, through standard solicitor enquiries. A GroundSure report however would have been an additional prompt to define this issue further. Incidentally solicitor purchase of conveyancing environmental searches is particularly poor in the north east of England. It would be interesting to know if one was done as you point out.
Kind regards,
Dan Montagnani
Environmental Consultancy Director
GroundSure Ltd
T: +44 (0)1273 819500
M: +44 (0)7710 780291
W: www.groundsure.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Contaminated Land Management Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Clive Williams
Sent: 21 October 2008 13:41
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Watchdog
I wonder what the Coal Authority's' view on not disclosing a mine shaft
for several years is?
"Under the Coal Industry Act 1994 ownership of coal, (excluding coal in
tips), coal mines (both current and disused) and coal mine shafts &
adits (previously vested in British Coal) transferred to the Coal
Authority ("the Authority"). Any activities which intersect, disturb or
enter any of the Authority's coal interests require the prior written
permission of the Authority." - this is extracted from the Coal
Authority's web site and would imply that TW were remiss in not
obtaining prior permission to treat a shaft - which would then be
entered into the CA's register of shafts and would turn up on a stability
report that any competant solicitor would ask for during the searches
and any mortgage provider would demand??????
I also wonder what information was disclosed to the solicitors acting
for the purchaser - if an environmental search was undertaken I'd
expect this to include the reports submitted by the developer to obtain
planning permission; but then being in the biz, I'd have read them
myself. Do these environmental searches simply entail an email to
Landmark to look on a database? I've never bothered as I always do
my own contam survey when buying a house.
I wonder what professional help the home buyer sought? A sad and
sorry tale to tarnish our industry though.
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