Unanimous green light for £160m Doncaster Sheffield Airport funding

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has approved the package, which will be used to create a freight and passenger airport that anchors a wider advanced manufacturing site, jointly known as South Yorkshire Airport City.

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard; Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones; Leader of Sheffield, Cllr Tom Hunt; Leader of Barnsley, Cllr Stephen Houghton; and Leader of Rotherham, Cllr Chris Read, all gave the go-ahead to the ambitious scheme.

Speaking before the vote, Mayor Coppard said: “Reopening the airport will be a means for the development for a wider gateway site, as an advanced manufacturing site with a focus on sustainable aviation…

“The report concludes that the strategic vision is well aligned to regional and national priorities, and the vision of an airport anchoring a wider development is considered achievable, albeit with the need for broader investment…

It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point. It was never inevitable that we would get here.”

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said: “The decision before us today is said to be the largest single investment in Doncaster in a single generation. It is an investment in our economy, our businesses, our jobs and skills…

“This will put Doncaster on the map, regionally, nationally, and internationally.”

Cllr Hunt stressed the need for the airport to be as sustainable as possible, ensuring that both the airport itself and Gateway East uses as little carbon as possible.

He also nodded to Harworth’s development at Waverley, which in the last 25 years has created an advanced manufacturing base and new neighbourhood, but lacks sufficient public transport links – an issue that is now being addressed.

He underlined the importance of learning from the past and integrating sustainable public transport options now, at the beginning of the airport project.

The board was asked to vote for one of three options: to approve the additional funding to the City of Doncaster Council to fully reopen the airport; to defer the decision pending further assurances and completion of commercial negotiations; or to withdraw the public funding option and look for private investment.

Now that funding has been approved, the targeted timeline for the airport being operational has been set at 2028, serving freight operations, private aviation, and business activity, alongside passenger flights.

The airport was closed in 2022 by Peel Group, who declared it unviable.

Since then, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Doncaster Council have explored how to make it work for the region, resulting in Doncaster acquiring the surrounding land and assets on a 125-year lease to create space for Gateway East.

The South Yorkshire Airport City project is a 10-year plan that uses the DSA as an anchor for Gateway East to become a sustainable aviation hub, capitalising on the region’s status as an Investment Zone and focusing on advanced manufacturing.

Doncaster Council has also used the money to appoint Munich International Airports to operate DSA, has started the regulatory process for airspace, and created FlyDoncaster to manage the airport project.