Sirius Minerals looks to overcome planning objections to York Potash mine

SIRIUS Minerals, the company behind plans for a huge new potash mine near Whitby today said it was confident of overcoming major planning objections from the Environment Agency and Natural England.

The company responsible for the York Potash project also said that it is in ongoing talks with the Ministry of Defence over reassurances that the mine will not interfere with the nearby RAF Fylingdales base.

A planning decision on the project is expected from the North York Moors National Park Authority on July 2 and Sirius said objections have been submitted from Natural England and the Environment Agency on a number of grounds including the issue of the location of the mine within the national park.

Chris Fraser, managing director and CEO of Sirius, commented: “The planning case for the York Potash Project remains compelling as it will deliver many benefits to the local and national economies, whilst also providing a unique multi-nutrient form of potash for the agriculture sector.  We remain confident in our submission and believe that detailed planning conditions can satisfy these objections and provide the reassurance of either no impact on neighbouring moorland, or achieving an improvement, without the need for unnecessary delays to the determination of this important project.”