Ian Curnow , BA (Hons)
Ian has been assessing historical mining risk for thirty nine years.
He began in 1986, joining Cornwall Mining Services Ltd immediately after leaving school. There he was focused mainly on Cornwall mining risk areas. Here, he gained the foundations of interpretation that allowed him to move into assessing risks for different types of mining throughout the country at Mining Searches UK. Ian remained there until moving to Groundsure in 2020 where he leads a team of expert consultants providing coal and non coal risk assessments throughout the UK.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Experience
- Cornwall Mining Services Ltd (1986 - 2011)
- Mining Searches UK (2011 - 2020)
- Groundsure (2020 - 2025)
Qualification
- BA(Hons) Historical Studies (2006)
Education
- University of Exeter (2000-2006)
1 Contributions by Ian Curnow
PRACTICE NOTES
Subsidence, Sinkholes and Climate Risk: Searches, Insurance, Lending and Planning Issues for Property Lawyers
Introduction to subsidence
Subsidence arises when the soil below a building cannot adequately bear its load effectively. It frequently follows loss of moisture and shrinkage in the ground, commonly after extended dry periods. Other forms of ground movement include ‘settlement’ (the normal compression of soil under a property), ‘heave’ (upward lift beneath a structure, often linked to flooding, escaping water or nearby trees near a property) and ‘landslip’ (sideways displacement due to erosion, frequently affecting coastal homes and properties). A range of triggers can set off subsidence and related ground instability issues. These include, among others:
human disturbance (e.g. mines, mine shafts, old and disused wells, soakaways, former ice-houses, past storage or refuse pits)
altered drainage regimes and patterns
intense rainfall and heavy rain
removal of groundwater and abstraction
impacts of climate change (e.g. rain, drought, erratic weather), an ever more important driver of concern
trees
Some contend that hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) causes land movement. Government restrictions on fracking were brought in during 2019, then lifted in September 2022 amid energy security concerns at the time. The former Department of Energy and Climate Change consulted on underground drilling access—Consultation on Proposal for Underground Access for the Extraction of Gas,...
Environment
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