Skewen flood victims to sue Coal Authority

 All but three of the families stricken by the outburst from old mine workings on the 21st January now have access to their homes. However, they will need more than the £500 "garden repair"grant offered to each of them by the Coal Authority to restore their properties to anything like the condition they were in before the flood hit. Accordingly, there is a move by some residents to sue the Coal Authority for realistic compensation which is bound to be upwards of a few thousand pounds per property. 

The Coal Authority may well be able to defend itself on the basis that it is not liable in law for the flood. However, the Coal Authority Framework Document of April 2019 (pdf here) states that:

The Authority works to protect the public and the environment in mining areas in England, Wales and Scotland. It is working towards becoming a world leader in resolving the impacts of mining.

Moreover,

Its specific statutory responsibilities are associated with:  

 licensing coal mining operations in Britain

 handling subsidence damage claims relating to former coal workings which are not the responsibility of licensed coalmine operators

 managing property and historic liability issues, such as surface hazards and treatment of minewater discharges relating to former coal workings

 providing public access to information on past and present coal mining operations [my emphasis]

So there is clearly a moral duty to accept responsibility. As I understand it, the Authority is financially well-endowed, so there should be no trouble in meeting the residents' requirements. One trusts that a settlement can be reached, using arbitration if necessary, rather than going to court, a process which will benefit lawyers more than either party.

The Coal Authority needs to be more proactive in future, considering that climate change will ensure that England and Wales are going to be subject to increased rainfall for some time to come. It seems that a frequently-updated survey of the many old mine shafts hereabouts is essential to head off future disasters.