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Homes being swallowed up by sinkholes is something most people would expect to see in a horror film, yet similar stories are making the headlines with alarming regularity and the problem is only getting worse. 

Sinkholes are opening up everywhere from Cheltenham to Liverpool and even London, bringing into question much of what conveyancers (and the general public) thought they knew about mining and the risks it poses to ground stability in the UK.

Are you making dangerous assumptions about local mining risks?

South Wales, Cornwall and the North East are well-known locations for historical mining activity, prompting local conveyancers to stay aware of the connected risks. Yet those working in central and eastern England and London are less concerned – and even assume there aren’t any risks that will affect their clients’ properties which couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Mining activity has taken place across the UK for 100’s of years with the availability of minerals shaping the growth of towns and cities the length and breadth of the country, as well as shaping their unique character (which is why the likes of Bath and Worcester look so different). The reality is that historical mining could affect almost any location in the UK so professional due diligence is essential when purchasing a property.

Forgotten shafts

Unlike the high-profile strikes surrounding the closure of the coal mines in the 1980’s, many other local mines across the country closed quietly during the turn of the 20th Century with the last large-scale mines closing in the 1960’s. With no legislation in existence or money to fill them in, 98% of these mines were abandoned and forgotten.

At the time, local communities remembered where the mineshafts had been located and therefore the land was used as open areas for parks rather than homes. As time has worn on much of this information has been lost and the open spaces unknowingly bought up and built upon by developers after which ground stability problems have emerged. Lack of data and expert professional interpretation, as well as NHBC regulations (which only require due diligence of the top 2m of the ground) have contributed to this risky oversight resulting in costly repair bills for developers and in extreme cases entire developments have been demolished such as the Bayfield, West Allotment Site in Tyneside. 

Cases in point

Recent sinkholes in Reading, St. Albans and Kent serve as a stark reminder as to the risk historical mining activity can have on ground stability. 

Houses, shops and schools that have, in most cases, unwittingly been built above these old mine shafts are suffering from a number of issues, such as subsidence and the appearance of collapses and mining sinkholes. 

Here are just some of the examples that have made the headlines in recent years: 

30 homes were evacuated in Reading when an old chalk mine collapsed 

In January 2000, a 19th Century chalk mine collapsed causing major subsidence of the overlying ground around the Field Road and Coley Road area in Reading.

30 homes were evacuated for residents’ safety and a further 2 homes later collapsed. It took 12 years to fill the underground chalk mines with 1,742 tonnes of grouting, costing approximately £4.3 million.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13630363

A giant mining sinkhole in St. Albans cut off utilities to over 50 properties

On 1st October, 2015, a giant sinkhole opened up in Fontmell Close, St Albans. It was 66ft wide and 30ft deep, cutting off utilities to over 50 properties and forcing families to evacuate their homes. 

The hole was created by heavy rainfall causing a previously unknown chalk mine to collapse. The void required 48 lorry-loads of foamed concrete to fill.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38156508

Several shops were forced to close when a mining sinkhole appeared in Kent

In early 2015 at Lawrence Square, Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, the appearance of a sinkhole forced several shops to close and 7 sets of council tenants to be evacuated for fears of more subsidence.

Continued subsidence forced the gas supply to be shut off and the area was declared unsuitable for permanent habitation. The area was heavily mined for chalk and clay during the 19th Century with many chalk mines and mining-related sinkholes already known in the immediate area around Lawrence Square. 

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/tenants-rehomed-due-to-dangerous-32861/ 

Terrafirma are helping conveyancers and homeowners understand the full extent of mining risks 

Using their specialist knowledge, Terrafirma analyse coal mining risks alongside an additional 55 mining hazards to reveal a fuller picture of ground stability in our towns and cities.

To find out more about how Terrafirma can uncover the truth about mining in your local area, you can also read this blog post. 

tmgroup are pleased to announce that the new Groundsure Avista environmental report will be available on tmconvey from Tuesday 6th June 2017. 

This concise report will intelligently filter datasets to produce a clear and comprehensive risk report for the residential market. 

Each report will include an easy to read summary page for peace of mind, confirming the full list of data points checked against the property. Avista also offers a new level of clarity by only presenting conveyancers with the key issues requiring further attention.

This will help conveyancers to save time, as they will not have to sift through a lengthy report in order to determine next steps and key findings; recommended actions will be clearly visible, ready for a discussion with their clients. 

Key features include:

• Seven reports in one: Avista combines seven environmental searches covering the key residential property purchases risks, including 10 years of planning applications. This will help to minimise the risk of missed issues, as well as reduce delays caused by ordering further reports.

• Improved accuracy and pass rates: Avista reports are based on Land Registry polygon data as standard for the highest level of accuracy, with 106 million data points being analysed to significantly improve pass rates. 

• Clear and concise recommendations: Clearly signposted data with unambiguous recommendations will leave customers better informed, without being overwhelmed by confusing jargon. 

• The average report is less than 20 pages long: The average Avista report is less than 20 pages long, which will make it simple for conveyancers to hone in on what’s important. 

• Review next steps with a quick glance: The Avista Action Alert saves transaction time and trouble by providing a simple visual guide to the complexity of the environmental factors associated with a property.

About Groundsure Avista

Groundsure is a leading provider of environmental reports including land contamination, flooding and ground stability. Avista is their latest product, offering a comprehensive risk report with seven key environmental searches.

The new Groundsure Avista environmental report will be available to order from tmconvey on Tuesday 6th June 2017. 

You can view a 'pass' sample report here, and a 'fail' sample report here. 

For more information, contact your Account Manager, or call Helpdesk on 0844 249 9200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk.

When the charge for single-use plastic carrier bags was introduced in England on 5th October 2015, Tesco reported a 78% drop in number of single-use carrier bags taken from its stores in England in the first month.

According to a panel of environmental experts, if the government are to meet their targets for Sustainable Planning and Development, a similar initiative could be the key to addressing some of the barriers.

This suggestion was put forward at a Sustainable Planning and Development roundtable event we hosted; featuring a range of guest speakers including:
• Stephen Sykes, UKELA Chairman & Sykes Environmental LLP
• Jon Lovell, Founding Director of Hillbreak
• Chris Taylor, Product Development Director at GeoSmart

It is hard to penalise a developer if an issue arises after they’ve finished a site

As it currently stands, issuing penalties for failings around Sustainable Planning and Development is a challenge, especially as once a developer has built something, they leave the site and it is hard to put them “on the hook”.

Further issues include over-complicated laws and regulations, which make it challenging for even large businesses with extensive legal resources to make sense of and adhere to, as well as difficulty in receiving planning permission.

Passing the cost onto the consumer could be key in driving real change

Given the additional cost of implementing some of these initiatives, and with minimal risk of incurring a fine, it is no surprise that many developers are choosing to overlook Sustainable Planning and Development methods. 

One possible solution however is to pass the cost onto the consumer, in a similar way to charging for single-use plastic carrier bags. Internalising the cost of the impact like this could help to bring the issue into the demand phase of house building – as oppose to outsourcing the negative impact onto others.

In essence, if consumers are faced with higher living costs for living on non-sustainable developments, then demand for sustainable buildings could go up; and investors would be far more likely to adhere to regulations.

Coupled with tax breaks for developers for using environmentally friendly technologies, this could result in a win-win situation and mark a positive step forward for Sustainable Development.

A number of sustainable solutions are already available

There is no doubt that enforcing Sustainable Planning and Development is a complicated issue to address, but steps must be taken if we are to reduce the impact of flooding and land contamination, as well as ensure that our planet’s resources are available for future generations.

The good news is that conversations about various initiatives are already taking place, and a number of solutions are on the market to help support Sustainable Planning and Development.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for example, replicate the natural drainage from the site before development and reduce run-off and flood risk through detention basins, permeable pavement, and water butts.

Since April 2015, SuDS have been a requirement for major developments in all cases unless demonstrated to be ‘inappropriate’; meaning that a high level SuDS feasibility report is necessary for property professionals at the initial master planning stage to identify drainage options and risks.

Such reports are now available for conveyancing solicitors to order. For example, GeoSmart’s SuDS feasibility report, is currently available as a first-to-market product for users of tmconvey.

According to a BBC news report, seven homes have been evacuated after a large sinkhole opened up behind a row of houses in Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Affected residents are facing the unpleasant reality that their homes are structurally unsafe and inhabitable, and that they might even be officially homeless over the Christmas period.

Ripon lies in one of the most susceptible areas for sinkholes

While one of the affected residents has described their situation as “quite traumatic”, The British Geological Survey reported that Ripon lies in one of the most susceptible areas of the UK for sinkholes because of its "Permian gypsum deposits".

This disparity suggests that this sinkhole was not a surprise to those “in the know”, and that solicitors working in the local area are likely advising home buyers of the need to carry out land stability assessments ahead of their purchase – advice which is quite possibly being ignored.

Many home buyers see property searches as “just another cost”

Unfortunately, many home buyers still see property searches as “just another cost”, and in some cases are neither reading nor requesting necessary information from their solicitor.

Yet as the Ripon case highlights, there are very real risks attached to the land beneath a property, which home buyers should have a firm grasp of before gambling with their life savings.

Ground stability and mining information is readily available to home buyers

Although it is too late for the affected residents of Ripon, there is a range of information available which can help to protect future buyers from a similar fate; which can be accessed by any solicitor whose client expresses concern about their intended purchase.

These resources extend from thorough reports, such as the Groundsure Ground Stability report, which reveal the types of mining the property is at risk from, through to mining searches that can identify other risk areas.

There are also basic environmental reports from Groundsure and Landmark, which include a ground stability risk assessment.

Horror stories such as these show that the information presented in property searches can have very real implications for the people who go on to buy an affected home.

Fortunately, solicitors have good knowledge of their local area and will be able to advise their clients as to whether mining and land stability searches are necessary. The onus is then on the consumer to request the relevant information and protect themselves from a poor investment.

Hopefully cases like this bring a very real issue to the forefront of people’s minds, particularly in areas where there are known issues. 

Megan Jones, Marketing Communications Executive at tmgroup

Photo credit: Nicolas Henderson

Image: £2.3bn worth of investment into flood defences has been promised as part of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014.

With the recent Government announcement on infrastructure spending in the Autumn Statement, the discussion about these projects has been added to the national agenda. It would seem that one of the cornerstones of the Government's plan for economic recovery are these large projects but what of the impact that they can have on specific areas, home owners and house buyers?

In a recent poll conducted by leading property data and service provider TM Group, it was revealed that almost half of the conveyancers polled did not realise how serious a client’s flood risk could be.

Flooding is the biggest natural threat that the UK faces and, in England alone, more than 5 million properties are at risk, equivalent to nearly 1 in 6.

However, despite most environmental property searches containing an indication of a property’s likely risk of flooding, many conveyancers are still unaware of the likelihood of their client’s property flooding.

Since the turn of the year crown and sinkholes have plagued the country, causing significant damage to property as well as inflicting substantial costs and inconvenience upon property owners.

The UK's foremost authority on the subject, Dr Clive Edmonds from Peter Brett Associates, spoke to Begonia Filgueira on the threat that these natural phenomena pose.

The Brewers’ Hall, refurbished in 2011, is an oasis amongst the high rise modernity of the City of London. Image © Brewers Hall 2014

Brewers' Hall in Aldermanbury Square, London played host to the second live event of TM Group's 2014 Educational CPD Programme.

Packed full of insights into the environmental and planning issues that affect residential conveyancers, we presented talks from Brian Balkin of Lockton Companies, Dan Montagnani from GroundSure (who kindly sponsored the event), Keith Davidson from Elm Law, Loschinee Naidoo from Legal Eye, Jenny Owen of Lawyer Checker and Julian Sampson from Jet Convey.