Conservative Ministers have blocked £30 million in funding that could help Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Labour Metro Mayor, re-open Doncaster Sheffield airport. Local Labour leaders have been working to revive the airport, which closed in November 2022. They hoped to use a £30 million cash pot – originally earmarked in 2022 for a rail link to the airport before it closed – to help pay for building work at the site. But Tory Transport Secretary Mark Harper has refused to let them re-route the cash – which will likely go unspent within the 5 year time limit. Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) had domestic flights to London and low-cost airlines taking holidaymakers to European destinations, therefore taking money out of the local economy. When it closed, owners Peel Group said it was not “commercially viable” – despite Mr Coppard and Doncaster Council offering to underwrite operations for a year while a new airport operator could be found. Peel still own it.
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Local Labour leaders have been working to revive the scuppered Doncaster Sheffield Airport, providing transport in the north a much-needed boost after Rishi Sunak’s scrapping of HS2
Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been closed since November 2022
By Mikey Smith Whitehall Correspondent (Mirror)
20 Jan 2024
Tory Ministers have blocked £30 million in funding that could help a Labour mayor re-open a northern airport, the Mirror understands.
Local Labour leaders have been working to revive the scuppered Doncaster Sheffield Airport, providing transport in the north a much-needed boost after Rishi Sunak ’s scrapping of HS2. They hoped to use a £30 million cash pot – originally earmarked in 2022 for a rail link to the airport before it closed – to help pay for building work at the site. But Tory Transport Secretary Mark Harper has refused to let them re-route the cash – which will likely go unspent within the five year time limit.
Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Labour Metro Mayor wrote to Mr Harper in December, urging him to think again. “While there remain significant hurdles for us to overcome if we are to reopen [the airport],” Mr Coppard wrote in the letter, released to a local campaign group under Freedom of Information laws. “Your help in allowing us to access [the funds] for the airport would be a clear sign of your willingness to listen to local concerns and priorities.”
He added: “I know you have been unwilling to make that commitment in the past – on behalf of the people of Doncaster and South Yorkshire, and all those people across the north hoping to see [the airport] reopened – I would be grateful if you would now reconsider that decision.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) saw both domestic flights to London and low-cost airlines taking holidaymakers to European destinations. But it closed in November 2022, with owners Peel Group claiming it was not “commercially viable” – despite Mr Coppard and Doncaster Council offering to underwrite operations for a year while a new airport operator could be found.
In August, this newspaper revealed the Mayor’s office and Labour-run Doncaster council were on the verge of agreeing a deal with Peel Group to take on a 100-year lease on the site – which could see flights taking off again within two years. A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We strongly encourage [airport owners] the Peel Group to work with local leaders to find a solution for the Doncaster Sheffield airport.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-ministers-block-30m-cash-31928642
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A £3.1 million financial package has been approved to help Doncaster Council prepare a Compulsory Purchase Order for Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). The money is coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to help with the “complex” preparations. The SYMCA also agreed funding for Doncaster’s Place Plan, which includes the potential purchase of the airport. Work will now continue on the potential purchase order as well as the negotiations on a potential lease. There will be costs to reinstate the airport for operations and these costs will form a part of the business plan the council is preparing. The council said it has potential buyers and operators who are aware of this and willing to work with the authority. The Mayor of Doncaster said: “Peel continues to be unwilling sellers; they have not gone to the open market or made any effort to sell the airport as an operational airport and working business.”
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Doncaster Sheffield airport is to close later this year, its owners have confirmed, despite the offer of financial aid from public funds. This leaves hundreds of staff facing redundancy and comes days after Liz Truss said she had instructed ministers to protect the airport. The airport’s owners, the Peel Group, which had extended a public consultation period by 10 days, said a strategic review had ended without any clear proposals on the airport site’s financial viability, or a potential buyer. They said the high costs of running the airport, whose flight numbers have fallen by more than half since 2019, meant it would start winding down operations from 31st October. Peel is in consultation with staff about losing their jobs. Local politicians wanted the government to provide more public money for it, but at present the UK government has massive and increasing debts, partly from capping household and business energy costs, and no cash to spare. Peel realises subsidising a permanently loss-making airport is not a sensible use of scarce public funds. It has made big losses since the start of the pandemic, and there are other airports in the area (Leeds, Manchester) that travellers can easily use.
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