Councillors updated on Coalsnaughton incident

An update on how the Council is responding to the ongoing major incident at Coalsnaughton was given at a meeting last Thursday.

The meeting heard how the Council has fulfilled its statutory duties in terms of Civil Contingency legislation, by prioritising public safety, supporting the precautionary evacuation of affected residents, coordinating emergency and longer-term accommodation solutions and delivering a range of welfare, housing and wellbeing supports for affected residents.

Councillors recognised the considerable and sustained efforts undertaken by Council officers, the Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) and partner agencies in responding to an unprecedented major incident, while also noting the formal transition from response to recovery.

Throughout the meeting there was broad acknowledgement of the commitment shown by staff and partners in supporting affected residents during an exceptionally challenging period.

Councillors also heard there is an ongoing commitment to share any lessons being learned and future Council meetings will be given updates on recovery plans, associated costs and spending plans.

The MRA's Carl Banton attended the meeting and responded to a range of detailed questions from councillors. He reiterated the MRA's view that there are no Clackmannanshire-specific mining risks and confirmed that the area should not be considered at greater mining-related risk than comparable parts of Scotland with a mining legacy.

The meeting heard the MRA has already confirmed that the most probable primary cause of the incident is subsidence linked to historic coal mining activity and that it will assume responsibility for the remediation process.

The MRA presented their findings to residents at a public meeting on 28 July.

Residents have since been offered individual meetings with the MRA and Council officers, and with Kingdom Housing where appropriate, to understand next steps and identify any ongoing support requirements.

Homeowners have been allocated a dedicated MRA customer account manager to support the claims and remediation process.

On 5 August the management of the incident transitioned from the response phase to recovery phase in accordance with the Scottish Government's Recovering from Emergencies framework.

The Council leads on recovery activities, and the first meeting of the Coalsnaughton Recovery Coordination Group has already taken place.

This group, chaired by Depute Chief Executive Lorraine Sanda, will put the needs of the affected residents first, while providing strategic leadership, oversight and coordination of recovery activities.

The MRA will be the principal contact for property-related matters, including access arrangements and insurance enquiries. For tenants, MRA will engage through landlords to support tenants.

Councillors also heard about the financial impact of the major incident, with the Council’s estimated spend being £1.175m to date.

The largest costs relate to temporary accommodation, removals, storage, welfare support and incident management activity.

Further expenditure is anticipated as the Council leads and coordinates the recovery phase.

Discussions remain ongoing with the MRA and the UK  and Scottish Governments regarding the recovery of costs incurred in responding to and recovering from the incident.

As part of the discussion, councillors were advised that reviews undertaken to date had confirmed that relevant planning applications associated with the area had been processed in accordance with the statutory planning framework.

Council leader, Councillor Ellen Forson said: “I welcome this report as it provides further insight into the complex and varied work Council officers have undertaken so far and the plans as we shift focus into recovery.

“While the MRA have now announced the ground movement has been caused by mines, and this is a significant milestone, it continues to be a worrying and uncertain time for the residents.

“As we move deeper into the recovery phase the Council will continue to support our residents, maintain community wellbeing, rebuild confidence and ensure that, wherever possible, those affected remain at the heart of every decision we take.”

The Council and its partners were first alerted to suspected ground movement at Benbuck View, Coalsnaughton, on the evening of 18 May and all homes in the street were safely evacuated.

The Forth Valley Local Resilience Partnership and the Council’s Incident Management Team were stood up on 19 May and, following continued investigations by the MRA in The Glen area, further evacuations took place at Dunmoss View on 27 May and on 29 May at Nechtan Drive and Langour, bringing the total number of properties evacuated to 97.