A NATIONAL parks charity is calling for a public inquiry into plans to develop a potash mine on the North York Moors.

The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) has asked Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to call in the planning application for the York Potash mine head and tunnel, near Whitby, as it says it is of national significance which conflicts with national policy on the protection of national parks.

The plans involve building the mine head and shaft within the national park, along with a tunnel to transport the mineral 23 miles from the site to Wilton on Teesside where the extracted mineral will be processed for export.

Presently the plans have been lodged with the North York Moors Park Authority and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

But Ruth Bradshaw, policy and research manager with the charity said the plans have implications beyond their immediate location and should be considered as part of a whole project.

She said: “National parks are protected in law for good reasons.

“Not only are they extraordinary landscapes providing clean water, wildlife habitats and benefits critical to a healthy environment but they also contribute significantly to the national economy. This project is simply incompatible with the statutory purposes of national parks.”

York Potash said the objections raised by CNP were already dealt with in the planning application and the plans were also being scrutinised by government advisers on nature and the environment as well as local authorities.

A spokesman for York Potash said: “The planning application process for the York Potash Project is following a very clear process which allows the national park authority and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to make local decisions on the applications.

“The applications have and are being scrutinised thoroughly by the relevant local authorities, as well as statutory consultees that include the government’s advisers on nature and the environment.

“It has attracted wide ranging and extensive support from the local community, parish councils, business groups, education establishments and many more.”

Four other organisations, the National Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the North Yorkshire Moors Association and the Campaign for Protection of Rural England coastal branch are also calling for a public inquiry.

Karin Taylor, head of land use planning at the National Trust, said: “This application threatens to undermine the principles under which National Parks are protected through the planning system and could even threaten the designation of the North York Moors as a national park.”