A FARMER’s field near York has turned into a LAKE after sinking by 2 metres because of subsidence caused by coal mining.

The Coal Authority has had to concede that the former Selby coalfield was to blame for the sinking acres of formerly arable farmland at Acaster Malbis, south of York, following an arbitration hearing.

Farmer Roger Raimes now plans to turn the lake into a conservation area where wildlife such as oystercatchers can thrive.

But he said he wanted to warn landowners and householders across the former coalfield, which stretched from Selby almost to the outskirts of York, that if such subsidence could happen on his field, their land might also be at risk.

He says he would be particularly concerned if anyone were intending to build new homes or any other developments on land above any of the coalfield’s numerous mined seams.

Mr Raimes, of Manor Farm, Acaster, said the field on the former Acaster Airfield, a wartime bomber training base, was perfectly flat and regularly planted with crops until a couple of years ago, when he noticed that an area was starting to sink and fill with water.

He took a claim under the Coal Mining Subsidence regulations against the Coal Authority to an arbitration hearing.

The hearing was told that because of subsidence caused by historic mining operations, drains which previously fully drained the land were no longer functioning, and the land was standing in water for prolonged periods, so that crops could not establish themselves.

The authority contended that the last recorded mining had been many years before and the damage was clearly due to other causes.

It argued that heavy rainfall had exacerbated the damage, and also that the use of heavy agricultural machinery was a contributing factor.

But Mr Raimes’ representatives referred to a study in Belgium which found subsidence had occurred 40 to 60 years, on average, after mining.

The arbitrator referred to a paper published in 2017 which gave a ‘clear picture that movement may well be taking place in an area of historic coal mining many years after coal mining activities finished.’

He said: “The mere fact that there was a significant timelag between the cessation of mining operations in 2002 and the current damage in 2019 does not in itself clearly establish that the damage is not subsidence damage.”

He concluded that the damage might be caused by subsidence and the burden of proof was on the authority to show it wasn’t. It had failed to do so and Mr Raimes had made good his claim, and compensation should be awarded.

Mr Raimes said that due to the subsidence, 14 acres had had to be removed from arable and he intended to make the whole area into a mixed conservation area, encouraging waders and other wildlife

He said no one had as yet explained how a mine more than 600 metres below ground had led to his land subsiding almost 20 years after the mining had ceased, and he would welcome any such opinion from an expert.

A Coal Authority spokesperson said it fully investigated all coal mining subsidence damage claims made to it and if it was its responsibility it would undertake remedial action.

"Matters can be referred to independent arbitration to specifically resolve disputes if people disagree with our decisions,"they said.

“The Coal Authority is a planning statutory consultee on new developments in coal mining areas and we also work with developers to provide advice as required. The aim of this is to identify any site specific coal mining issues and to ensure developers understand these so that their site is safe and stable for the development being proposed.

“As part of our work to keep people safe and provide peace of mind we have a 24/7 incident hotline 01623 646333 that people can call any time to report a mining hazard or concern.”