Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Reopening confirmed after £160m public funding plan approved
The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport under public ownership has been confirmed after South Yorkshire’s political leaders unanimously agreed to support a £160m funding plan.
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard and the four council leaders of Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley all voted in favour of the plan at a public meeting held at the airport today.
It means devolution funding controlled by Mr Coppard’s office will be released to Doncaster Council so it can reopen the airport through a council-owned company called Fly Doncaster.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander this afternoon hailed the decision as a “victory for common sense” and said she will do “whatever is needed” to passenger flights back up and running by 2028.
The site previously closed under the private ownership of Peel in 2022 after years of running at a loss.
The plan for Doncaster Council to reopen the site has come about after attempts to secure a private investor failed.
It is intended that the reopened airport will be a catalyst for wider development investment around the site, potentially creating thousands of jobs.
Part of the aspiration is for the creation of a ‘world-leading’ sustainable aviation and advanced manufacturing hub on the neighbouring Gateway East site.
Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones, who has made the reopening of the airport her ‘number one priority’, said: “The decision is said to be the biggest single investment in Doncaster in more than a generation with the economic impacts reaching all our communities in South Yorkshire and further afield. It is an investment in our economy, our businesses, our jobs and skills.”
Mr Coppard said his decision had been informed by the widespread public support in Doncaster for reopening.
“It is absolutely right we listen to our communities when they say they want us to do something. I make no bones about the fact we have listened to the communities of Doncaster to get to this point today.”
Barnsley and Rotherham council leaders Sir Steve Houghton and Chris Read praised Ros Jones for her campaigning work in getting the airport reopened.
Sheffield Council leader Tom Hunt also praised Ms Jones.
“I know how important reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport is to so many people,” he said.