The airport had closed in 2022 but was pegged to reopen later this year
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Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s grand reopening is to be delayed as the Mayor of Doncaster extends the time to find an investor.
Mayor Ros Jones admitted on Friday (May 17th) that due to a lack of investors, the timeline to reopen the airport, which closed in November 2022 would be pushed back.
Speaking at a meeting of the full council, the leader of the council gave an update on negotiations thus far.
Having been closed for over a year, Doncaster Council have been keen to procure financial stability for the airport to keep the infrastructure open more permanently.
The council has been looking for a new investor to re-open the site by means of a leasehold agreement. The agreement has already been signed off by the council, with the investor going into a contract with Peel set to last 125 years.
Initially, the council had been looking for an investor to take on by spring of this year; however, this has now been extended to late summer to allow investors more time to prepare their cases.
However, despite the change in timescales, the council is still expected to make a decision on the tender during the rest of spring.
Doncaster’s council is being supported in its push to reopen the airport by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority – which allocated some £138m to the project in February.
Jones, along with the Mayor of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority – Oliver Coppard – and three Doncaster MPs released a joint statement, giving their backing to efforts to reopen the transport hub.
“We understand that there are still a number of stages before aeroplanes can once again fly from our airport, but the progress made so far cannot be underestimated,” they explained.
“We will ensure cross-party lobbying of the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority in order to fully re-establish our airspace at the earliest opportunity. A reopened airport for Doncaster has incredible potential for Doncaster and South Yorkshire.
“South Yorkshire Airport City incorporates both a re-opened airport and the world leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East in Doncaster,” they finished.
