The Coal Authority require a Coal Mining Assessment from developers as an initial response to a planning application. This short risk assessment is based on the formal Coal Authority Consultants Mining Report, identifying coal mining hazards which may be present, and is useful in scoping subsequent investigation work. If hazards have been identified, usually recorded mine entries, shallow coal seams or shallow mineworkings, then an investigation programme is specified to meet the Coal Authority concerns.
The CMRA or investigation report is passed to the Coal Authority for their approval.