NEARLY £2bn worth of investment is heading for the region after plans for the world's biggest potash mine within the North York Moors National Park were approved.

After more than six hours of deliberating on whether to allow the mine near Whitby, members of the authority’s planning committee voted eight votes to seven in favour.

Tension in the room mounted as members summed up their views on the York Potash plans and it became clear there would be no large majority vote either way. The final announcement was welcomed with cheers from shareholders and others supporting the plans.

But critics including the National Trust later spoke of their "extreme disappointment" at the outcome and urged the Government to hold a public inquiry into the plan.

The scheme is believed to be the country’s first major mining project in the UK in decades and will bring significant investment.

Chris Fraser, managing director of Sirius Minerals, which submitted the plans, came out of the planning meeting to cheers and applause from shareholders and supporters.

Mr Fraser, who was born in the region but moved his family back to the area from Australia for the York Potash project, said he was “pretty relieved”, adding: “It will take a while to sink in - it’s been five years of hard work to get here.”

The proposal to build the mine came after around 1.3 billion tonnes of polyhalite was discovered below the protected Yorkshire coastline - believed to be the world's biggest and best quality supply of the valuable mineral.

The firm has said the discovery of the mineral, which is processed to make premium potash fertiliser, could create more than 1,000 jobs and generate £1.5 billion a year.

The York Potash Project would see a 1,500-metre mine sunk beneath the park, which would tunnel outwards and pump the polyhalite underground around 30 miles north to Teesside, where it would be processed.

The mine will be located around 4km south of Whitby on the B1416, near the village of Sneaton.

Barry Dodd, chair of York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership, spoke of the proposals potential to increase food production for the world's growing population with the crop nutrient produced.

He described the project as the "biggest single investment project in the North of England by a country mile".

He said it could help lessen the UK's productivity gap, reduce the trade gap by 2.5 per cent and help balance the North/South economic divide.

The mine could mean the creation of 1,000 direct jobs specifically in Teesside and North Yorkshire.

During the planning meeting, one young apprentice gave an impassioned plea, saying young people needed the kind of secure careers offered by the project.

She is one of five apprentices already working with the York Potash project, all of whom come from the Yorkshire coast.

She said: “I speak on behalf of all the local young people who don’t just want to be part of this project, but need to be. We need careers to allow us to thrive in our home town and make us attractive to mortgage companies.”

“We need somebody to believe in us, invest in us and challenge us.”

Many of the jobs involved in the civil construction of the mine will come from the local population, while more specialist roles involved in sinking the mine shaft will be advertised internationally.

Sirius Minerals will pay have to pay money to offset the environmental harm from the mine, including £70 million towards carbon off-setting part of the project, which will largely involve planting 7,000 hectares of trees within the park. A further £15 million has been pledged for tourism mitigation, £56 million to go towards landscape, wildlife and recreation and £7 million for extra rail services.

However, there was disappointment among many that the plans were not rejected.

Ruth Bradshaw, from the Campaign for National Parks, was one of those urging members to throw out the proposals.

She said members had responsibility to consider whether the plans contributed to the purpose of the national park.

The charity representative said the proposals were "completely incompatible" with the highly protected environment of a national park. She said the government agency Natural England was concerned at the potential "huge damage" and their objection "should not be taken lightly".

Alison Fisher, one of the members who voted against the mine proposals, said the plans were in conflict with national park purposes and said she worried about the accumulative effect of the plans.

Harry Bowell, director of the North region at the National Trust, said after the vote: “We are extremely disappointed with today’s decision by North York Moors National Park Authority to approve plans for potash mine development within the national park.

"The natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of National Parks give them the highest level of protection. To have a development of this scale going ahead within a protected landscape sets a worrying precedent for the future of all our national parks." But the park authority’s chief executive, Andy Wilson, said members had ultimately made their final decision because they felt the proposals were “truly exceptional” and would provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for the region.

He added: “I appreciate that there will be many disappointed by today’s decision but Members felt that the long term benefits for the local, regional and national economy were transformational. This truly exceptional nature plus the measures proposed by the company to mitigate harm and deliver widespread environmental benefits to the Park over a long period of time tipped the balance in favour of approval.”