A PROPOSED potash mine could lead to a 15 per cent drop in visitors and a £40m loss to the economy, national park officials say.

The North York Moors National Park Authority has set out the issues that will need to be considered when its planning committee look at York Potash’s application to create a £1.5bn mine near Sneaton, Whitby.

Some of the huge implications and benefits of the multi-million pound development have been set out in a 95-page report for its members, which the committee will look at tomorrow (Thursday, May 14) ahead of the meeting on July 2 when the full plans will go before them.

The report made the scale of the task facing the mining company clear, stating: “From the outset, the authority’s officers explained that York Potash would have to address the corner stone of planning policy relating to a presumption against major developments in national parks and demonstrate that the mine could not be realistically developed outside the national park.”

It went on to say York Potash would have to “present a robust justification of the national need for the development” and “explain the exception circumstances which demonstrate public interest”.

The report outlines the proposal’s national implications, explaining how potash, a component of fertiliser, is needed to help meet an increasing need for agricultural fertiliser as the world needs to produce more food to sustain its growing population.

The park authority has said there is likely to be a 15 per cent decrease in visitors over four years, amounting to £40.78m a year in tourist expenditure.