Mines

[Bahco]

I am looking to sell maybe early next yr and know that next door ( the other half of a semi detached bungalow) has a mine on its driveway.

Is it likely to affect the sale of my house or will it have been made safe yrs ago by capping etc.

Obviously I don't want any thing to hold up the sale so am looking into it now.

Anyone with mine experience looking in?

 

[noseall]

Get one of these.......

 

[noseall]

....or do you mean a mine shaft?

 

[Bahco]

I do mean mine shaft.

Spill the beans please and share your experiences.

 

[rjm2k]

You'll only know for sure when you try to sell but it is quite likely to have some impact especially if the shaft is quite close to your property. They really shouldn't be allowed to build on these things!

 

[10phil79]

We recently bought a house in an area with mining history. Around 5 doors up there is a vent-shaft under a drive and some gardens opposite have vent shafts also. On ground near by, four shop stood for around 25 years until one begun slipping into a shaft. The coal board attempted to grout but they failed to stabilize the ground - so they were demolished.

Our conveyancer also acted for the shop owners during the above situation so he had a better than average local knowledge - he basically advised us of the risks but we felt the shafts were far enough away not to cause concern...

However, in an area like ours, its worth considering that for each documented mine shaft, there are likely to be several others not documented. All the known ones in our area are capped with concrete. Originally, they would have been capped with wood and buried...

[from a buyers point of view] where a coal mine is concerned, any damage to a property relating to mine workings will be the responsibility of the coal board to rectify. The coal board are obligated to make a market-value purchase of the affected property if the situation is unresolvable - as occurred with our local shops. Whether the reality is quite so straight forward, i am not sure.

[from a sellers point of view] the demolition of the shops near to us and the local history of significant mining activity has not affected re-sale values or property turn over in the slightest.