Public inquiry calls over potash mine plan
CALLS WERE made last night for a public inquiry to examine plans to develop the world’s largest potash mine on the North York Moors amid warnings the clamour for economic growth “should not be at any cost”.
The Campaign for National Parks, believes the potential impact of the current York Potash application, which is due to be considered at a later date, is even greater than previous plans, now revised.
Ruth Bradshaw, Campaign for National Parks (CNP) policy and research manager, said the building period of the proposed mine, near Whitby, and an underground tunnel to carry material from the mine has been extended and warns of the “damage it will cause to landscape, biodiversity and recreational activities” and says the visual impact during the building work would be “considerable.”
She warns it is an important test of planning protection for national parks. “This project is simply incompatible with the statutory purposes of National Parks,” she said.
However yesterday York Potash said it had received “extensive” support for the project.
Four other organisations – The National trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the North Yorkshire Moors Association and the Campaign to Protect Rural England coastal branch – are also calling for the Government to call in the application.
Tom Chadwick, chairman of the North Yorkshire Moors Association, said: “If this development is allowed to go ahead it will amount to sacrificing the integrity of an English National Park to satisfy an alarming trend for economic growth at any cost.”
A spokesman for York Potash said: “The application has and is being scrutinised thoroughly by the relevant local authorities, as well as statutory consultees that include the Government’s advisers on nature and the environment.
“It has attracted wide ranging and extensive support from the local community, parish councils, business groups, education establishments and many more.
“The issues raised in the CNP objection are also dealt with comprehensively in the planning application.”