Erection Of 2 Pairs Of Semi-Detached Dwellings, Heckmondwike Road, Dewsbury, WF13

Due to the site being within a ‘Development High Risk Area’ the Coal Authority raised an object to the application until the applicant had submitted a Coal Mining Risk Assessment (CMRA).

The aim of a CMRA is to identify any coal mining legacy risks and set out a proposed mitigation strategy to demonstrate to the LPA that the site can be made safe and stable for the proposed development. In some cases it may be possible to ensure that the development layout avoids recorded high risk features.

The published geology indicated that the site was in an area where the bedrock was exposed at the surface and that the site was underlain by the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation of the Westphalian Epoch.

The borehole section sheets published by the BGS were reviewed and a borehole 73m east of the site recorded three coal seams in the upper 60m.

Data provided by the Coal Authority confirmed worked seams were present under the site, a coal seam outcropped on the site and there was also the possibility of unrecorded shallow workings to be present under the site.

The CMRA concludes that there was a risk to the development from the worked seams and proposed either further investigation or the incorporation of measures into the building design to withstand any collapse.

The report was submitted to support the application, the recommendations for site investigation were accepted by the Coal Authority and the objection to the development was raised by the Coal Authority (see the Officer Report).