Is the home in a coal mining area, and does it matter?

Being in a coal mining area means past mining is recorded or likely nearby, not that the home is affected. A coal mining search, usually ordered by your conveyancer, says whether the property itself is affected, and that is the step that settles it.

Checked 16 Oct 2026

Why old coal mining still matters

Coal was mined across large parts of England and Wales for centuries, including the North East, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Lancashire, Cumbria, Kent and the valleys of South Wales. Old workings can lie close to the surface, and many early ones were never mapped. Most homes in these areas are not affected, but where shallow workings or an old shaft sit beneath or near a building, the ground can settle or, rarely, collapse.

The Mining Remediation Authority, which was called the Coal Authority until recently, holds the national records of coal mining. It also deals with mining hazards and handles claims for damage caused by coal mining subsidence.

Two areas you will hear about

Coal mining reporting area

This is the broad area where coal mining has taken place or could have taken place. If a home is inside it, conveyancers normally order a coal mining search as part of the purchase. Being in the area says nothing about the specific property: it is the reason to check.

Development high risk area

Within the coal mining reporting area, the Mining Remediation Authority marks out places where mining features are recorded at or near the surface, such as mine entries (shafts and adits), shallow workings or past surface mining. The rest of the coalfield is a development low risk area.

For a buyer, the high risk area matters most if you plan to build. Most planning applications there need a coal mining risk assessment. Householder applications, which cover most extensions, are on the exemption list, but the council can still ask for one, so check with the council first.

What a coal mining search can show

A coal mining report, often called a CON29M search, comes from the Mining Remediation Authority’s search service and is usually ordered by your conveyancer. It can tell you about:

past underground coal workings beneath or near the property, and how deep they are;
mine entries within 20 metres of the property’s boundaries;
past surface (opencast) mining nearby;
gas emissions from coal mines;
mining hazards reported in the area and any work done to make them safe;
past claims for coal mining subsidence damage at the property;
plans for future coal mining in the area.

GOV.UK explains how to find out if a property is affected by coal mining with a free online search that tells you whether a report is needed. The report itself costs a fee and usually arrives within a few days.

A coal search covers coal only. Other kinds of mining, such as tin and copper in Cornwall and parts of Devon or brine pumping in Cheshire, need their own searches, which conveyancers order in those areas.

If the search finds something

Go through the report with your conveyancer and ask what each finding means for this property.
Ask your surveyor to look for signs of movement, such as cracks, sticking doors or sloping floors, and whether a structural engineer should take a look.
Expect your conveyancer to tell your lender about anything significant. Some lenders ask for more information before lending near a mine entry.
Check that buildings insurance is available on normal terms for the address.
If an old shaft or workings have been treated, ask the seller for the paperwork.

A finding in a search is something to understand with your conveyancer and surveyor, not a verdict on the home, and a clear search is not a guarantee about the ground.

Subsidence claims

If a home is damaged by subsidence caused by past coal mining, the owner can claim from the Mining Remediation Authority. An engineer inspects the damage, and if the claim is accepted the authority either repairs the damage or pays compensation.

Coal mining subsidence is handled separately from ordinary subsidence, which buildings insurance usually covers and which is more often caused by clay soils shrinking in dry weather, nearby trees or leaking drains.

If you ever see a hole opening up in the ground, or another hazard that could be linked to old mines, report it to the Mining Remediation Authority, which runs a 24-hour line. If you are also checking the land for water, see how to check flood risk.

Check it for a specific home

The Planning, heritage and land section of a HouseReport report says whether the home is in a coal mining area and whether it is in or near a coal mining high risk area. If it is in a coal mining area, ask your conveyancer for a coal mining search: that report, not the area, says whether the property is affected. Look up any address to see its free preview.

Look up any address

The free preview shows which of these checks the report answers for that home.