Sirius potash mine planning application pushed back

THE planning application put forward by Sirius Minerals, the company behind plans for a huge new potash mine near Whitby, has been pushed back.

The application for the new mine – expected to create more than 1,000 direct jobs with thousands more in the supply chain – was due to be considered by the North York Moors National Park Authority on July 2 but has now been moved to July 29.

Sirius and the North York Moors National Park Authority have agreed the extension to the onshore planning application to allow further feedback from statutory stakeholders to be provided.

Managing director and CEO of Sirius, Chris Fraser, said: “We welcome a small extension that allows the remaining issues to be properly considered by the Authority before it makes its decision on July 29. 

“We remain focused on achieving the positive determination that will enable the project to progress rapidly towards production and will unlock all of the benefits to the local, regional and national economies.”

According to Sirius, the additional time will allow the North York Moors National Park Authority to prepare a detailed recommendation report, having fully considered all of the information and a detailed set of planning conditions with a more complete understanding of feedback from the statutory bodies.