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 an initial fee -please see our scale of charges (Estates and Property Legal Services), and additional hourly charges may be levied when enquiries require in excess of one hour's work. 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.
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.
All historic enquiries 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 relevant fee made payable to The Coal Authority
- View our scale of charges for estates and property legal services