Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Huge £138m funding package to reopen airport approved by leaders

Regional leaders approved an outline business case (OBC) detailing plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport on Tuesday (Feb 13). Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in 2022, after a strategic review by owner Peel Group. After refusing to sell the site, Peel has agreed to consider a leasehold agreement with a new operator.

The approval gives Doncaster Council access to £138million from SYMCA funding to work with potential investors to negotiate a leasehold agreement. The OBC will now progress to a full business case, allowing the council to progress with its South Yorkshire Airport City (SYAC) plan.

SYAC details plans to reopen the airport site and create a sustainable aviation hub in the neighbouring GatewayEast, creating additional jobs around manufacturing. Recent assessments predict that the plan will create 5,000 direct jobs in the airport and over 10,000 indirect jobs, generating £1-£2.3bn in revenue.

Presenting the OBC, Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said: “Over the last few months considerable progress has been made by my officers as they’ve negotiated in good faith on our plan to save and reopen our airport. These negotiations continue to progress positively with the airport land owners. While I am extremely hopeful that we will be able to agree a deal, we are not over the line yet.

“The City of Doncaster Council has entered the next stage of the procurement process, which is progressing as planned, with the aim of appointing an operator in the spring. A number of condition surveys of the site have been conducted, and I’m pleased to say that the the site is in very good condition, considering it had been closed for over a year.

“Last week I updated our Doncaster MPs on our current progress and I am pleased to report that they our fully behind our efforts to reopen the airport. The economic potential of a reopened airport cannot be underestimated for Doncaster, for South Yorkshire and for the north. We are at a critical stage and we must do all we can to ensure the following stages stick to the plan.”