York Potash extends consultation deadline

THE company behind a proposed huge state-of-the-art potash mine south of Whitby, North Yorkshire has extended its public consultation period to allow more time for people to comment on its plans.

The mine application submission was recently pushed back to late September by York Potash and as a result, people will now have until September 1 to submit their comments.

The company claims the new mine, which will see potash extracted for use as farming fertilisers, will generate more than 1,000 jobs when at full production and thousands of indirect jobs in the support and supply industries.

The scheme would see a minehead built around 2km south of the village of Sneaton, with the mineral transported by underground pipeline to a processing site on Teesside.

Earlier this month public exhibitions took place at a range of locations around Scarborough, Whitby and Redcar.

Gareth Edmunds, external affairs director at York Potash said: “It has been great to see so many people at the events and we thank all those that have taken the time to provide feedback. This additional period will provide an opportunity for more comments to be received following the strong interest shown to date.”

The applications for the mine, mineral transport system and materials handling facility are due to be submitted to the relevant local planning authorities at the end of September.

A decision on these parts of the project is expected in January 2015.