AN AGREEMENT has been signed between a national park authority and a mining company over the way in which a planning application to build a £1.5bn mine will be handled.

The North York Moors National Park Authority said it welcomes the official withdrawal of the existing planning application by York Potash and the signing of the new Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) with the company.

When news last year broke in July last year that the company wished to defer its application for a third time in order to address environmental concerns, the authority expressed frustration, as it had been due to make a decision within days.

It feared the move would place a considerable financial burden on the park, which had already spent £500,000 over 12 months processing the plans, covering consultation fees, legal fees and other costs.

Now the company has officially withdrawn the application and is working with the park to set out a timescale for pre-application discussions and the submission of a new application at the end of July.

A spokeswoman for the park said: “The authority approaches the new application with an open mind and the proposed development will be determined in the context of its local plan policies and government policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.”