PLANS for a 1,000-job fertiliser mine have gathered fresh momentum.

Sirius Minerals says the first step in a harbour application has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate.

The company wants the site, earmarked for Bran Sands, on the mouth of the River Tees, to handle the fertiliser polyhalite from its proposed £1.5bn York Potash Project mine, near Whitby.

Bosses say a final decision on the harbour, which also includes a proposed quay and ship loading equipment, is expected in summer 2016.

The update comes as Redcar and Cleveland Council today (Thursday, April 23) prepares to approve the mine and a separate transport system for the development, which Sirius says will annually extract up to 13 million tonnes of polyhalite.

The company wants to take the fertiliser from underneath the North York Moors National Park, using an underground tunnel to transfer it to a proposed handling site at Wilton, near Redcar, for distribution.

It says the mine will create 1,040 direct jobs, with a further 1,010 supported in the construction and development phase, and £1.2bn delivered in exports.

Referring to the harbour, a Sirius spokeswoman told The Northern Echo the Planning Inspectorate had accepted the company’s development consent order application, paving the way for the process’ next step.

She added: “There will now be a period for interested parties to register their details.

“The Planning Inspectorate will then decide when they undertake a preliminary hearing, which will last for two months.

“A full six-month examination will follow, and the Planning Inspectorate officer will write a report for the Secretary of State to make a decision.”

Despite Redcar and Cleveland Council’s imminent backing, the York Potash Project also needs approval from North York Moors National Park Authority.

However, a council report said its benefits outweighed environmental concerns.

Its findings, which are due to be discussed by its regulatory committee today, said: “The project would make substantial contributions to direct and indirect employment, the value of goods and services produced in the area, and national Government tax.”

Sirius already has a number of agreements with international companies to supply polyhalite, including Sinoagri, one of China's largest fertiliser distributors, which is expected to receive 500,000 tonnes every year in a ten-year partnership.

However, despite its plans, and the council’s support, rival miner ICL Fertilizers, at Boulby, east Cleveland, says the development could cause a regional skills shortage and halt its own multi-million pound expansion.

Based just 12 miles from Whitby, it says Sirius’ proposals should be moved further away from its site, fearing damage to a £50m polyhalite investment.

The firm, known by many as Cleveland Potash, is already mining polyhalite, and is now building a processing plant for the material.

Last month, The Northern Echo also exclusively revealed it has £50m plans to build a granulation plant to help ramp up production of the fertiliser to about 600,000 tonnes by 2018.

The factory could open in three years, turning hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fine polyhalite into granules for agricultural use, and bosses have also reiterated proposals to extend its mine by at least another 40 years.

But, according to the council’s report, ICL has a number of reservations over Sirius’ proposals.

It said: “It suggests the York Potash mine should, if at all, be re-located further south where it would not interfere with the longer term expansion of Boulby, and suggests workers would be targeted at Boulby.

“If Cleveland Potash embarks on its own dedicated granulation plant, the possibility of skilled and trained worker migration is a genuine threat to the business.”