Alternative Sites Consultation

BACKGROUND ON THE COAL AUTHORITY
The Coal Authority is a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The Coal Authority was established by Parliament in 1994 to undertake specific statutory responsibilities associated with the licensing of coal mining operations in Britain; handle subsidence claims which are not the responsibility of licensed coalmine operators; deal with property and historic liability issues and provide information on coal mining.

The Coal Authority set up a new Planning and Local Authority Liaison Department in 2008 to reengage with the three planning systems across England, Scotland and Wales. The main areas of planning interest to the Coal Authority in terms of policy making relate to:
* the safeguarding of coal as a mineral in accordance with the advice contained in MPS1 and
MPG3 in England; and
* ensuring that future development is undertaken safely and reduce the future liability on the tax payer for subsidence and other mining related hazards claims arising from the legacy of coal mining in accordance with the advice in PPG14 and MPG3 in England.

COMMENTS ON THE WARWICK CORE STRATEGY - ALTERNATIVE SITES
Deep Coal Resources and Potential Mining Legacy
As you will be aware from our response on the Core Strategy Preferred Options in the autumn of 2009, there are deep coal resources within an area to the north of Warwick District. The Coal Authority is keen to ensure that coal resources are not unduly sterilised by new development, whilst this is principally in relation to surface coal resources, however major development or highly sensitive forms of development can potentially lead to the effective sterilisation of deep coal resources if not properly considered in site allocations and development management decision making.
As we indicated in our response to the Core Strategy Preferred Options last autumn "The Coal Authority does not wish to make any specific comment on the level of housing growth that is appropriate for Warwick District. However, if higher levels of growth are imposed following the RSS examination process, this may necessitate the further consideration of housing development on sites which have currently been excluded from the Preferred Options. In the event that it becomes necessary to consider housing development within the deep coal resource area outlined above, the mining position of any potential development sites would need to be given due consideration in order that any stability or other public safety issues are identified and addressed.
This would be particularly relevant if the currently excluded SHLAA sites in the Burton Green area (as set out in Appendix 2 of the Preferred Options) were to be re-considered for development as a result of any increase in the District's housing requirement."
Consequently the issue of presence of deep coal resources would need to be a potential factor for further consideration if Alternative Site 5 - Hurst Farm South, Burton Green were to be pursued.
CONCLUSION
The Coal Authority welcomes the opportunity to make these comments, we are of course willing to discuss the comments made above in further detail if desired. The Coal Authority also wishes to continue to be consulted both informally if required and formally on future stages.