Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Keir Starmer pledges Government support for council's £145m reopening plan

The Prime Minister said: “We will work with the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”

It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves giving her backing to the reopening of DSA last month but the Government has not pledged any financial support towards the scheme.

A final decision is due in summer on council plans to reopen the airport using over £100m of public money.

City of Doncaster Council has established a company called FlyDoncaster and intends to provide it with loans totalling £105m, with the low rates of interest equating to an effective grant of £90m.

It hopes to reopen the airport next year and has signed up Munich Airport International to provide operational and management services as well as agreeing a 125-year lease for the site, which closed in 2022.

Concerns about the subsidy plan have been raised by rival airports such as Leeds Bradford, while the council’s auditors Grant Thornton took the rare step of issuing a “letter of concern” about the financial risks of the project.

The council intends to use its share of South Yorkshire devolution funding, which is overseen by regional mayor Oliver Coppard, to make the loans. Mr Coppard has delayed a decision on the plan until summer as he seeks independent advice on its value for money. A recent council report put the estimated reopening cost at £145m – higher than the council’s £138m share of devolution funding that has previously been earmarked for the project.

The council says its business case for the airport, which has not been made public, suggests the airport will be a catalyst for wider regeneration work, creating 5,000 direct jobs and generating an economic return of £9 for every £1 spent.

Sir Keir’s comments come after a Parliamentary debate about the airport on Tuesday evening. Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme MP Lee Pitcher asked aviation minister Mike Kane to make the Government’s commitment to reopening the airport clear.

He added: “Will the Minister explain what concrete steps the Government will take to support the economic benefits of a reopened DSA, and will he commit tonight to supporting the full reopening of our airspace and to avoiding any further delays? We have seen the results across our great nation time and again, when vital regional infrastructure is not nurtured with the political will needed to sustain it.”

Mr Kane said Government officials and the Civil Aviation Authority will be “working tirelessly to make sure that we reopen that airspace in the interests of Doncaster Sheffield Airport”.

He also told the debate: “I welcome the efforts of the council and the Mayors of Doncaster and of South Yorkshire to secure the future of the airport and the economic opportunities for the region.

"As the Chancellor set out in her recent speech, this Government will work with City of Doncaster Council and the Mayor of South Yorkshire to support their efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport as a thriving regional airport.”