Coalsnaughton ground still moving months after evacuations

Clackmannanshire councillors were given an update on the situation at a full council meeting on Thursday.

A total of ninety‑seven households have been evacuated since May after cracks appeared in roads, paths and homes in the former pit village, with streets fenced off and utilities cut off to affected properties.

Benbuck View was the first place to be affected and later homes in Dunmoss View, Nechtan Drive and Langour were impacted.

Mining Remediation Authority Chief Operations Director Carl Banton told councillors that monitoring was continuing and they are hoping to provide updates to residents on the way forward in the coming week or so.

“The buildings are moving albeit very slightly,” he said. “It has not completely finished. It is slowing down a bit to one or two millimetres a week.

“They are just subsiding into the ground. There is an epicentre at the centre of the movement and they are moving towards that position.

“We are doing our own assessments and making decisions on the outcome of that. We will be communicating with residents hopefully next week.”

Mr Banton pledged to ensure affected residents were updated throughout the process.

“Where we have big decisions, for example next week we want to call a residents’ meeting to inform residents of the next steps, we want to do that for individual streets because it is different things for different streets.

“Once told collectively, we want to do that on an individual basis. The bigger decisions will include the council and ourselves directly talking to the residents.”

Earlier this month, the Mining Remediation Authority confirmed that the most likely cause of the movement was historic coal mining activity.

Clackmannanshire Council leader, councillor Ellen Forson, said that confirmation had been a major step.

“This is a hugely significant milestone because it provides residents with  much greater certainty about the cause and route to remediation and compensation,” she said

“However it doesn’t mean the challenges facing residents is over. Families remain displaced from their homes.

“The practical and emotional and financial impact will continue to affect families and communities for some time.

“The council focus is now shifting from managing the response to long term recovery – that is about for more than buildings. It is about supporting people, ensuring no resident feels left to manage the process alone.”