Complexity blamed for late potash planning application

Developers yesterday admitted that work to finalise blueprints for the mine earmarked for the North York Moors National Park is proving “extremely complicated and detailed”, but were adamant the proposals will be submitted within the coming weeks.

A planning application had been due to be submitted by the end of December, but representatives from York Potash, part of the multi-national company Sirius Minerals, are still collating information requested by planners at the North York Moors National Park Authority.

The authority’s director of planning, Chris France, told the Yorkshire Post he believed the planning application could be submitted as early as the end of January.

He added: “There is a great deal of information that needs to be submitted for a planning application like this, and it is not unexpected that deadlines have slipped with such a complex scheme.

“We are continuing to liaise with York Potash, and their consultations with the public have been exemplary. However, the public will only be able to see the final plans once the planning application is submitted, and a further consultation will then be held.”

Plans for the mine were unveiled in January 2011 and exploratory drilling work has since pinpointed one of the world’s most extensive seams of potash, a key component in fertiliser.

The deposits are seen as a hugely important source of potash to help boost crop yields while satiating global food demand.

York Potash then announced in September last year that it plans to build the mine on farmland near the village of Sneaton in the national park.

The mine is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and a further 4,000 jobs in the wider economy. It had initially been costed at £1.7bn, but simpler processing has meant the figure has now been reduced to £1bn.

A York Potash spokesman said: “The work to compile the planning application is extremely complicated and detailed, and we need to ensure that all the correct information is provided.

“The scheme is continuing to progress and we will be submitting the planning application within the coming weeks.”