Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Serious concerns over repayment of £105m loan to be used to reopen airport
Serious concerns have been raised over how long it will take to repay a £105 million taxpayer-funded loan which is set to be used to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
At a council meeting on Thursday (Jan 23), Mayor Ros Jones confirmed the authority was proposing to use funding from a £900m settlement given to South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard as part of devolution arrangements.
Doncaster's share of the funding known as Gainshare would go to a new wholly owned council company called FlyDoncaster.
A report by the Government's Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) says the earliest repayment on the £105m loan will be paid in year 11, with the "full balance repaid by year 27 at the earliest, but possibly as late as year 50".
The SAU also questioned why the council had chosen to defer the payment of £44.6m rent by FlyDoncaster over the next 10 years. It is not known how much the council is paying currently to Peel Group to lease the land.
Finningley Conservative councillor Jane Cox told The Yorkshire Post: "It's a very concerning amount of money.
"We had the opportunity to give Peel a £20m loan but SYCMA didn't go forward with it and the Mayor didn't press it. Now we are giving £105m to an unknown and not getting any return for 10 years and up to 50.
"It doesn't add up. If it's providing an economic benefit to the whole of South Yorkshire why should Doncaster foot the bill?"
The Mayor told the meeting the tone of the Government's SAU unit was "positive" and public funding was an "appropriate mechanism" to consider.
She said an airport operator was "ready and waiting in the wings" and they still plan for passenger flights to return to the airport in Spring 2026. She said: "This is a Team Doncaster and Team South Yorkshire effort, I would like to thank the residents and businesses of Doncaster for their patience, we are not over the line yet, but we are nearly there."
Conservative Councillor Laura Bluff said the people of Doncaster were forfeiting their devolved fund settlement for the council to fund the airport.
She asked what level of private investment Doncaster's £100m would be met with.
Mayor Jones said "details will be included in reports that will go through the decision-making process in due course."
A final decision will be made when the council sets its budget on February 27.
Resident Isaiah-John Reasbeck, who attended the meeting, said he feared the airport would become a white elephant.
He told The YorkshirePost: "There's a reason it shut in the first place, if it had been making reasonable money it would have stayed open."
Another member of the public Lisa Smith said she'd found it cheaper to fly from Manchester rather than DSA in the past - even if she had to take a taxi.
"I just think we have got better things to spend our money on."