Sir, – The article by Harry Mead headlined “Shame” was an unfair, biased piece of parochial views which in my view was shameful in itself and unjustly critical of North York Moors National Park Authority (D&S, May 29).

Mr Mead needs to have a wider look at the world where he will find that 70 per cent more food will be required by 2050 and without the use of the highest quality fertilisers (polyhalite), this will not be met, consequently many millions will go hungry.

No one wants to see the beautiful North York Moors damaged and spoiled but the most stringent planning rules are being enforced, including diversion work for the Coast to Coast walk, which is very popular and important for tourism.

We have always mined Swaledale for lead and Durham for coal. The mining created work and thus a local community sprang up, which is a criticism of what may happen now. But are National Parks just for tourists?

National Parks have to balance the needs of everyone to create thriving local communities. They have to stimulate the economy and regeneration while maintaining the attraction for tourists to visit.

Democratically, of the 1,780 who responded to the consultation about the mine going ahead, 97 per cent voted yes!

The company, Sirius Minerals, estimates that directly and indirectly there will be around 2,500 jobs created, £9m is ring-fenced for tourism and £10m for tree planting alone, so it is a massive undertaking.

The company will incur even more debt before any potash reaches Redcar probably around 2018/2019, so is a massive risk to them.

The bigger picture is to protect the moors while creating vibrant local communities and providing the world with a much needed resource.

JOHN H NUTTALL, Leyburn.