Public sector bodies can access Coal Authority data for free for some purposes under the new data and information plan for 2024-27.
Under the new data and information plan, which sets out the data agenda for the authority over the next three years, there will be no fee for public sector organisations when they license the organisation's data for non-commercial uses.
“We believe that wider and more innovative use of this data will transform how we and others succeed in making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas,” said Paul Frammingham, chief finance and information officer at the Coal Authority, in a statement.
“We recognise the important role of the public sector in funding and delivering projects that support infrastructure and services,” said Gerry Wildman, principal data and information manager at the Coal Authority, regarding the move to free licensing for the public sector.
“The plan is a commitment to supply data free of charge for projects and activities funded by the taxpayer,” the organisation's statement said.
“We know our data can play an important role in supporting these activities and hope to encourage its use by removing commercial data licensing fees for public sector organisations from April 2024. This will mean that there will be no charge to access and use the Coal Authority’s mining data for activities that the public sector are delivering in support of their core role and purpose,” Wildman said.
Limitation
A spokesperson for the authority confirmed that local authorities would have to pay for the licence when they are planning commercial opportunities: “The free public sector licence would permit Coal Authority data to be used by public sector bodies for their planning purposes regardless of the intended planning use.
"It would, however, prohibit public sector organisations from using the data for their own commercial or competitive activities. A separate commercial licence can be arranged in these cases.”
The new data and information plan states that the authority will “continue to engage with lending institutions, surveyors, solicitors” and the emerging property tech sector through the development of application programming interfaces (API).
Digitising the database
The Coal Authority has been digitising and scanning its information and collating a database of mining features.
It is a non-departmental public body that partners with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and owns a dataset that reveals that 25% of properties in Great Britain are above underground mine workings. This data is used for incident response, water planning and identification of hazards.
Although mining is largely consigned to British history, the infrastructure is being considered for mine water heat networks, a new renewable energy source that could replace imported and CO2 polluting natural gas for the heating of properties.
