‘Combined’ funding pledged to help save Doncaster Sheffield airport

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority voted in favour of the finance package at its board meeting on Monday morning.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport was closed in November 2022 after its owners, the Peel Group, decided the venture was no longer viable.

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said: “We haven’t given up on our fight to reopen DSA.

“Since Peel announced their intentions to close our airport, I’ve been working alongside partners from across the region to first keep it open, and now to bring it back into use.

“We’re not going to stop until we’ve exhausted every option. The compulsory order process is our last, best hope.

“There are no easy or quick answers in this process. The CPO could take up to two years, and there are loads of hurdles in the way.

“But across South Yorkshire we are determined to do everything we can to bring DSA back into use, and to make it it the thriving regional airport we know it can be.”

Research carried out by the authority found that the airport supported about 2,700 jobs and contributed more than £100 million a year to the regional economy.

Doncaster’s mayor, Cllr Ros Jones, said: “Having an airport in Doncaster is vitally important to our city and the economic and growth fortunes of South Yorkshire.

“Businesses and communities in the region want to see a thriving airport so I am thankful for the support from SYMCA in helping with our efforts to secure its future.”

Meanwhile, a new official measure preventing the airport’s owners from bringing in the bulldozers has come into force.

The immediate Article 4 Direction adopted by Doncaster Council formally removes the right to demolish buildings without planning consent.

However, the council is still able to take comments from interested parties  before deciding to confirm the order, which is currently an interim step.

The responsible DMBC cabinet member, Cllr Nigel Ball, formally decided on May 19 to approve the making of the order, which has been served on Peel.

Without such an order, landowners could knock down the airport buildings and even the terminal for redevelopment.

The council said the direction included, but was not limited to, the control tower, fire station, hangars, cargo and transit sheds, the runway and the terminal building.

Any planned demolition must now be subject to planning rules and public consultation.

Over 96 per cent of people who responded to an informal public consultation on the Article 4 Direction supported the move.

A copy of the order, map and justification for the Article 4 Direction, as well as details of how to comment can be viewed at https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/services/planning/article-4-direction-doncaster-sheffield-airport.