Building in Wigan, Bolton, Chorley or anywhere on the former Lancashire Coalfield? Whether you need a Coal Mining Risk Assessment depends on exactly where your site is, and what you are building.
The Mining Remediation Authority (formerly the Coal Authority) splits all land on the coalfield into a Development High Risk Area and a Development Low Risk Area. A high risk area has recorded mining features at or near the surface: mine entries, recorded or probable shallow workings, mine gas sites and similar.
It is set site by site. Some Wigan postcodes sit in low risk areas with high risk areas close by, so check the exact site on the MRA's free interactive map.
Where the assessment finds a possible risk from shallow workings, the usual next step is rotary drilling to prove the seams and the rock above them. Any drilling that enters or disturbs coal seams, workings or mine entries needs a permit from the Mining Remediation Authority, and standard permits can take 20 working days or more.
If you find something unexpected on site, such as a hole opening up, report it to the Mining Remediation Authority's 24-hour line on 0800 288 4242.
Check the address on the Mining Remediation Authority interactive map, or send it to us and we will check it.
Householder applications are exempt from the automatic requirement, but the council or building control can still ask for one.
Keep reading
Guide / DrainageHow the test works, what the Vp result means and what counts as a good result for a septic tank.
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Guide / HomeownersWhy building control may ask about your ground, and the quickest way to answer them.
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Guide / Coal miningWhat it means to build in a Development High Risk Area, and when drilling for old workings is needed.
Read the guideReady when you are
Tell us about your site. We'll come back with the right approach and a price.
