Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Mayor offers update marking two years since Peel launched strategic review

This Saturday (13 July) marks two years since Peel Group, landowner of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, announced a strategic review into the site’s operations that later resulted in its closure.

Doncaster Council has since begun a process to select a new investor, who will reopen the airport in a leasehold agreement with Peel.

Despite media reports earlier this week stating that an investor has been selected, Mayor Ros Jones told councillors on Thursday that investor bids are still under review.

She stated: “These two years have been incredibly challenging, with many thinking that a lease agreement with Peel would not be possible, but here we are. We now have a 125-year lease for the airport and are in the process of appointing an airport operator.

“The bid process closed 3 weeks ago, and we are now reviewing those bids. The assessment of this significance involves very detailed and complex examination of bidders’ businesses cases. Despite what the media may be saying or the rumours on social media, at this point we have not yet decided on an operator.

“There remains a number of legal and due-diligence processes yet to complete, the snap General Election created a couple more hurdles to overcome, but progress is being made.

“In relation to the Airspace, throughout the General Election campaign we continued to engage with the government, but we also made representation to the then Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, in order that if there was a transfer of power then [they] would be fully briefed.

“We are requesting that the newly appointed secretary supports the full re-establishment of our airspace, as we are now leaseholders and have the backing of all four of our Doncaster MPs, we need the airport to again be part of this country’s aviation infrastructure for the betterment of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and the wider regions.

“We are not over the line yet, but I must pay tribute to the dedicated council officers leading this piece of work which we call the South Yorkshire Airport City programme.”