Plans have been given the green light to build two new homes on top of a former deep coal mine in Muirkirk.
An application from Calum Smith Architect on behalf of Mr Lindsay Cook will see the new builds be located on vacant land on the village's A70 Smallburn Road.
Officials say that enough time has passed since the last extraction of coal from the area that the buildings are unlikely to be affected.
The planned site in Muirkirk. (Image: Street view)
The plans for the two identical three-bedroom homes include space at each property for a kitchen, lounge area, two bathrooms, a garage and two separate parking spaces.
Scottish Water and Ayrshire Roads Alliance have both said they have no objections to the proposal, nor did any locals.
A Coal Authority report attached to the plans says the properties should not be affected by the area's history of deep coal mining.
Plans for the new homes. (Image: East Ayrshire Council)
The Coal Authority's report said: "The property is in a surface area that could be affected by underground mining in three seams of coal, at 220m and 330m depth, last worked on 1964.
"Any movement in the ground due to coal mining activity associated with these workings should have stopped by now.
"The property is not within a surface area that could be affected by present underground mining."
The last deep coal mine in the Muirkirk area, Kames Colliery (sometimes spelled Kaimes), closed in 1968 after nearly a century of operation.
The colliery earned an unwanted place in history after 17 men died in a gas explosion at the pit on November 19, 1957.
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