Historic Enquiries

Historic Enquiries relating to the ownership of land that may have been owned by the former National Coal Board/British Coal Corporation can be investigated by the Coal Authority.  The research for such enquiries is undertaken for the initial fee of £100 inclusive of VAT.  When enquiries require in excess of one hour's work, an additional charge of £100 per hour is levied.  In such cases the applicant is notified in advance with an estimate of the additional cost prior to proceeding with the enquiry.

The fee payable is non-refundable even if, following investigation, the Coal Authority are unable to assist with the enquiry or provide only a partial response.  All payments are required in advance of the work being undertaken.  In addition to the cost of researching each case there are further charges associated with the copying of any legal documents.

The Coal Authority Scale of Charges is available by visiting:

http://www.coal.gov.uk/services/scaleofcharges.cfm  (Fees listed under Mining Records and Records Management)

In the first instance all enquiries should be directed to the Land Registry (www.landregistry.gov.uk) and a copy of the certificate of the result of a search of the Index Map (provided by the Land Registry), together with copies of the Registers and Title Plan of each title revealed in it, must be provided as part of the above application to the Coal Authority prior to progressing a historic enquiry.

It is important to note that the Coal Authority will only provide copies of documents and will not provide property/legal advice in relation to historic matters.

Enquiries should be made in writing to the Head of Estates, 200 Lichfield Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG18 4RG and must include the following information:

• An extract from 1:2500 Ordnance Survey Plan identifying the Property which is subject of the enquiry
• A copy of the Certificate of the result of search of the Index Map
• Copies of the Registers and Title Plan of each of the titles revealed in the Certificate
• Cheque for the initial fee of £100 made payable to The Coal Authority