Acquiring Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s freehold sends a powerful message - Dan Fell
There have been plenty of big moments during the long campaign to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). These have included significant funding announcements, to-the-wire council meetings, and engagement with the country’s most senior politicians.
The announcement that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has acquired the airport’s freehold from Peel is perhaps the biggest moment yet.
The announcement sends a powerful message to prospective airlines, investors and commercial partners.
By acquiring the freehold, South Yorkshire has not only resolved a potential stumbling block, it has demonstrated its confidence in the airport proposition.
For businesses contemplating significant commitments of their own, that confidence matters.
As we approach the Budget, there is a wider lesson here that the Chancellor and ministers should understand. Without devolution, the opportunity to reopen DSA would not exist. Doncaster Council alone could not have shouldered the financial responsibility for saving the airport. Similarly, without prompting by South Yorkshire’s Mayor and others, national government would not have been compelled to act. Put simply, this project would have been too big for local government and too small to warrant national intervention.
Devolution also helped us build a regional campaign around an asset whose benefits extend far beyond Doncaster. The South Yorkshire Chambers and our business communities have consistently made that case. A thriving airport in Doncaster can help a Rotherham manufacturer, a Barnsley exporter or a Sheffield visitor attraction.
In the case of DSA, regional leaders had the resources and authority to act on an opportunity they understood. That is a persuasive argument for going further and, pleasingly, it is something our new Prime Minister understands – even if the ‘Manchesterism’ is already starting to grate!
Of course, devolved government does not always work perfectly. The airport’s journey has involved delays and both ‘small p’ and ‘big p’ politics. At various times relationships between organisations in our region have been tense. At times that’s been for healthy reasons; at others it’s caused real consternation to regional employers. We should learn from that experience with the aims of improving alignment, quickening delivery and boosting investor confidence.
There are some equally important challenges for Doncaster Council, SYMCA and the airport team.
Acquiring the freehold is a major achievement. Building a commercially successful airport requires a different emphasis. Prolonged negotiations must now give way to securing customers, attracting investment and preparing for launch.
This necessitates fully recruiting and empowering both executive and non-executive leadership teams.
The airport now needs to look and feel like one of the region’s anchor businesses, not a political project. Public investment requires accountability, but commercial leaders need freedom to negotiate and make decisions at the pace customers expect. It is time to cut the apron strings operationally. We must also be deliberate about who benefits.
Dan Fell is chief executive of Doncaster Chamber of Commerce.