Subsidence, settlement and heave
The coal mining search mentions past workings and the surveyor saw no shaft cap in the garden. What has a quiet lawn not cleared?
A quiet lawn has not cleared the past workings the coal mining search mentions. The surveyor saw no shaft cap in the garden. That is an observation of the surface: no cap was seen. It does not cancel the search, does not prove there is no shaft, and does not say the workings are of no consequence. A Coal Authority search is a separate product from the home survey. The lawn can look ordinary and the search can still say what it says.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Mining searches report records of past workings, shafts, and adits as those records exist. A home survey looks at the garden it can see. Grass, even level grass, hides ground. Not seeing a cap means a cap was not visible on the day. It does not mean the records are wrong, and it does not mean a shaft is present either. The survey has not investigated below the lawn and has not reinterpreted the search.
Read the coal mining search on its own terms, and do not cross out past workings because no shaft cap was seen. Tell the solicitor the survey's garden note and the search are separate. If the search needs explaining, ask the person who reports on mining risk, not the home survey, to do that. A Coal Authority search remains a separate product. Keep it in the pack beside the survey, not instead of it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What do the coal mining search and the garden note each say?
- Did you see a shaft cap, or only record that none was visible?
- Has a quiet lawn cleared the past workings?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the coal mining search on its own terms.
- Do not cross out past workings because no shaft cap was seen.
- Ask a mining-risk report, not the home survey, to explain the search if needed.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the lawn is level, have the past workings been cleared?
No. A level lawn is a quiet surface. It has not cleared past workings named in the mining search, and it has not proved there is no shaft. The surveyor saw no cap. That is all the garden note contains. Level turf is not a mining investigation.
Is the Coal Authority search the same product as the home survey?
No. A Coal Authority search is a separate product from the home survey. The surveyor walking the garden and seeing no shaft cap is not that search, and it does not replace it. The search mentions past workings. The lawn has not cleared them, and the visit has not become the search.