A Planning and Development Committee is meeting on Thursday (April 16) to express its support for the plans to build a potash mine near Whitby on the grounds that it will help the local economy. A report will be presented at a town hall outlining the proposal to construct a polyhalite mine at Dove’s Nest Farm. Moreover, the committee concluded that the visual and landscape impact of the mine at Dove’s Nest Farm would not be felt as strongly as if it was located at other sites.
The report says that “the committee supports this proposal in principle, emphasising the economic benefits of this proposal for the whole borough whether inside and outside of the National Park”. It cites further that “in addition to the technical constraints of the alternative sites, the committee considers that the proposed site at Dove’s Nest is preferable in terms of less visual and landscape impact and much less impact on residential amenity than those sites.”
The observations from the report along with other comments will now be forwarded to the North York Moors National Park Authority. A spokesperson of York Potash, a subsidiary of Sirius Minerals Plc, said that the company welcomed the support in the borough council report. “The findings in the report complement the existing and wide-ranging support from local parishes, communities, businesses, tourism groups, educational establishments and many more,” he added.
Based in North Yorkshire, York Potash is a flagship development asset of its parent company. The proposed mine will be a deep shaft mine and the first potash mine in the UK for 40 years. The project is targeting the production of polyhalite, a naturally occurring mineral containing four of the six macro-nutrients required for plant growth (potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium).
