Reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a reminder of what can be achieved when everyone pulls together - Yorkshire Post Letters

So, we’ve got a reopened airport in the wings (it still feels strange saying that), and when you look at everything else happening, the supporting development of Gateway East, we have Gateway One in the city centre, and a load of other big projects in the area, it’s pretty clear Doncaster isn’t standing still anymore.

All of this means investment coming in, decent jobs being created, and new tech landing here instead of somewhere else. Like it or not, the message is simple: Doncaster’s moving forward.

What’s really stood out through all this is what happens when people actually work together instead of pulling in different directions.

You’ve got Doncaster Council, led by Mayor Ros Jones, with Damian Allen, CEO of Doncaster Council, and Christian Foster driving the airport project, backed up by council directors and officers who’ve put the hours in behind the scenes. Getting on with the job, ignoring the noise in the background and getting on with delivering the project, heads of departments employed, ATC staff, equipment tendered for etc.

Then there’s the business side of things – Doncaster Chamber of Commerce led by Dan Fell MBE, Jade Dyer, and Sian Booth, plus the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce. Louisa Harrison-Walker OBE, Carrie Sudbury, Tracy Viner, local businesses stepping up and saying, ‘Yeah, this matters’.

On the regional side, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, led by Oliver Coppard, plus Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham councils, all have skin in the game too.

Local MPs current and past, like Lee Pitcher and Sally Jameson, kept the pressure on and made sure the airport didn’t just get brushed under the carpet in Westminster.

Then there’s the people who don’t get headlines but do a hell of a lot of work. Volunteers and advisors like Peter Kennan, Sam Chapman, Tariq Shah OBE, and plenty more.

Experience, common sense, and plenty of straight talking when it was needed.

And you can’t forget the community. Our community. The Save Doncaster Sheffield Airport group, members, participants and followers, along with everyone who shared posts, turned up, argued the case and refused to let the airport be written off.

Local media played their part too, Doncaster Free Press, The Yorkshire Post, BBC Radio Sheffield, ITV Calendar, BBC Look North and others. Sharing the news, asking awkward questions and sometimes giving people a kick when it was needed.

Was everyone always in agreement? Not a chance. There’s been criticism, debate, and plenty of tough conversations, but that’s part of getting big things done properly.

At the end of the day, everyone wanted the same thing: our airport back open.

And with that comes proper jobs, money coming into the local economy, investment in the region, and chances for people who live here to work here, and not have to commute miles or move away.

Bottom line: this didn’t happen because of one person or one group. It happened because a lot of people rolled their sleeves up and got on with it. And that’s exactly why this airport matters.