THE YORK POTASH PROJECT APPENDICES TO MDT PLANNING STATEMENT September 2014 Our Ref: Q40243 Appendices APPENDIX 1 - THE MINERALS AND WASTE JOINT PLAN (MWJP) APPENDIX 2 - DECISIONS ON OTHER MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS APPENDIX 3 - ‘THE AGRONOMIC CASE FOR POLYHALITE’ REPORT BY ADAS APPENDIX 4 - THE FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH AGENCY (FERA) APPENDIX 5 - POLYHALITE MARKET STUDY CRU REPORT A1. The Minerals and Waste Joint Plan (MWJP) for the City of York, North York Moors and North Yorkshire will, once adopted, provide strategic and development management policies relating to minerals and waste developments and will replace Core Policies E and F of the NYMNPA Core Strategy and Development Policies. A2. Following an initial public consultation in May/June 2013, an Issues and Options document was published for public consultation in February 2014 with responses due by 11 April 2014. The current timetable for preparing the plan assumes that a Preferred Options consultation will take place later in 2014, followed by an examination in summer 2015 and adoption in October 2015. A3. This Appendix provides a summary of the most relevant issues and options contained in the emerging plan in respect of the proposals. A4. The Issues and Options MWJP states that employment in mining and quarrying represents around 1% of employment in the Joint Plan area, recognising that Boulby Potash Mine is the largest employer in the North York Moors National Park (paragraph 2.6). The MWJP area is identified as a significant producer of minerals at a regional and, in some instances, national scale, with over 50 working quarries. Potash is considered to be an important mineral with Boulby Mine in the NYMNP being the UK’s only potash mine (paragraph 2.63). Around a third of potash produced from the Boulby potash mine is exported from the UK according to the plan (paragraph 2.67). A5. Commercial interest for a new potash mine in the NYMNP is identified as being one of the key issues and challenges for minerals that the MWJP will need to address. More generally, one of the key cross‐ cutting issues and challenges that needs to be addressed is: “Whilst unemployment levels are relatively low, there is a drive for economic growth both within the Joint Plan area and nationally, for which minerals supply can play an important supporting role. The drive for economic growth is also relevant when considering the employment opportunities afforded by new minerals and waste developments (paragraph 3.5).” A6. Chapter 4 (‘Development of a Vision and Objectives’) of the Issues and Options document sets out the document’s vision: “Over the period to 2030 a careful balance will be maintained between meeting requirements for minerals and waste development and infrastructure APPENDIX 1: THE MINERALS AND WASTE JOINT PLAN 1/5 whilst protecting and enhancing the Joint Plan area’s environment, supporting its communities and strengthening its economy.” A7. The vision and a series of 12 objectives are underpinned by the following interconnected priorities: . Delivering sustainable waste management . Achieving the efficient use of minerals resources . Optimising the spatial distribution of minerals and waste development . Protecting and enhancing the environment, supporting communities and businesses and mitigating and adapting to climate change. A8. Chapter 5 (‘Minerals’) of the Issues and Options document considers the issues and puts forward potential options to help maintain continuity of supply, as well as long term availability, for each different mineral resource present in the Joint Plan area. It states: “…it should be noted that no overall spatial approach applicable to extraction of all forms of mineral worked in the Plan area is proposed, mainly because minerals can only be extracted where they occur in economically viable quantities and this is fundamentally constrained by geology, and also because minerals worked in the Plan area serve very wide geographical markets ranging from local to international (paragraph 5.1).” A9. Paragraph 5.155 explains that there are various forms of potassium‐bearing minerals which can be mined for potash including sylvinite, polyhalite and carnalite. Potash and salt resources are both found throughout the eastern part of the MWJP area, mainly within the NYMNP. They are currently mined at the Boulby Potash Mine in the north of the Park, which is the only mine of its kind in the UK and supplies both the UK and international markets (paragraph 5.156). Figure 15 provides a map illustrating the geographical extent of the potash resources. The MWJP then refers to York Potash Limited’s proposals for a new mine within NYMNP approximately two kilometres south of Sneaton village and four kilometres south of Whitby, which would extract polyhalite. A10. Paragraph 5.158 states: “Potash and salt are all identified as minerals of local and national importance in the National Planning Policy Framework which requires policies to be included for their extraction. There is however no requirement within national policy to maintain a certain level of potash reserves. For this reason, and acknowledging the fact that the new potash mine proposed is a particularly complex project and at a relatively advanced stage in planning terms, it is not appropriate to consider allocating land for potash extraction within this Plan. Draft National Planning Practice Guidance on Minerals states that preferred areas or areas of search are not expected to be designated in National Parks. A new mine in the National Park would be classed as ‘major development’ and would need to be considered against the ‘Major Development Test’ (see glossary).” A11. This suggests that it is a planning application rather than the MWJP that will determine the proposals for a mine head at Dove’s Nest. A12. The Issues and Options document presents four options (‘id34’) for potash supply: . Option 1 ‐ Support an indigenous supply of potash from one location only. Option 2 ‐ Support the principle of multiple sources of potash supply from within the Plan area. Option 3 ‐ Support new locations for potash extraction outside of the North York Moors National Park only. Option 4 ‐ Support extraction of potash from under the National Park as well as outside of the National Park but only support siting of surface infrastructure outside the National Park. A13. Mineral safeguarding work undertaken by British Geological Survey for NYCC and the NYMPA has identified the potential extent of a safeguarding area for potash resources. The reports recommend safeguarding the whole of the resource, which reflects the potential for surface subsidence associated with underground mining to be constrained by certain forms of major or sensitive surface development (paragraph 5.161). A14. The Issues and Options document presents two options (‘id35’) for safeguarding potash: . Option 1 ‐ Safeguard land above the area permitted for potash working only. Option 2 ‐ Safeguard land above all of the potash resource. A15. Paragraph 5.172 explains that the MWJP area has “a range of deep mineral resources namely coal (including coal bed methane), gas (including shale gas), gypsum, potash, polyhalite and salt.” The extraction of these resources has the potential to sterilise another due to the fact that areas of the resources can overlap. The extraction methods used could also impact upon areas of underground mining for other resources, for example by causing instability or water ingress. A16. The Issues and Options document presents two options (‘id38’) for safeguarding deep mineral resources: . Option 1 ‐ This option would include a policy which would require the developer to demonstrate that there would not be significant conflict with other areas and forms of deep minerals extraction. Option 2 ‐ This option would identify ‘exclusion zones’ around areas of existing deep mineral extraction which would prevent the extraction of other resources where there is the potential for or there are known to be effects on these current areas of extraction. A17. The Issues and Options document presents four options (‘id70’) for developments proposed within Mineral Safeguarding Areas. These can be summarised as follows: . Option 1 ‐ This option would indicate that within Minerals Safeguarding Areas non‐minerals development will only be permitted in certain circumstances such circumstances are listed). Option 2 ‐ This option would adopt a list of application types that would be exempt from consideration under the Minerals Safeguarding Area policy (possible exemptions are listed). Option 3 ‐ In areas identified as underground coal or potash Minerals Safeguarding Areas, applicants proposing the following types of development would be required to consider the potential impacts on the proposed development arising from extraction of the safeguarded resources, as well as the potential for the surface development to sterilise the underlying resource (the types of development are listed). Option 4 ‐ As an alternative to Option 3 in respect of underground coal safeguarding areas this option would not set out a specific approach to consultation for non‐mineral development which is sensitive to mining subsidence, relying instead on the advice of the Coal Authority as a statutory consultee. A18. Appendix 1 of the MWJP presents details of the specific sites that were submitted in response to the ‘Call for Sites’ which formed part of the initial public consultation in May 2013. Further consideration will be given to these sites as work on the MWJP progresses and a site