Coal mining risk assessments

When considering your planning application, something to bear in mind is whether you need a coal mining risk assessment.

An area is classed as high risk when land stability and other safety risks are associated with coal mining activities, including areas of known or suspected shallow mining, recorded mine entries and areas of former surface extraction. Around here that covers a great deal of ground, because Alfreton, Ripley, Heanor, Codnor, Selston, Pinxton and South Normanton all grew up around collieries and the East Midlands coalfield ran underneath most of both counties.

You only need a coal mining risk assessment if your site is in a high risk area, where these hazards can affect a development. The assessment must be submitted along with your planning application rather than sent in afterwards, and an application missing one will usually be returned as invalid before anybody has looked at the design.

Information can be sought through the Mining Remediation Authority, which holds coal mining data in a national database with regard to coal mining past and present. That organisation was called the Coal Authority until it was renamed in 2025, so if you come across older guidance using the old name, it's the same body doing the same job.

There are tools available to you to assess your area. Your council publishes coalfield plans for its own area, and there's an interactive map you can browse using your postcode or by zooming in, to see if your site is affected. It shows high and low risk areas with the potential hazards to be aware of. Both are updated regularly so the information is as current as it can be.

There are occasional circumstances where the coal mining risk assessment is exempt, even in a high risk area. The exemption list has been revised over the years, so it's worth checking the current version rather than going on what applied to a project a few years ago. Your council's own validation checklist is usually the quickest way to find out where you stand.

Architectural Building Design Services are happy to assist you with your coal mining risk assessment and will be able to guide you as to whether or not it is a requirement for your site. We can complete and submit the assessment on your behalf, along with your planning application.

If you want the full list of what else goes into an application, there's more in how to get planning permission.

For more information please call us on 07773 899 597 or contact us through this website.