Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Northern Chambers of Commerce write joint letter to Prime Minister calling for government intervention

Sent to the Prime Minister last Friday, the letter was signed by all 16 northern Chambers of Commerce and the Sheffield Property Association.

These organisations represent 17,000 member businesses, who employ over two million workers.

It comes after airport owners Peel Group announced that the airport would begin to cease operations on October 31.

The letter recalls how the Prime Minister previously committed her government to helping to stop the airport closure yet there has been no action from her since.

The Chambers ask Liz Truss to fulfil her end of the bargain and urge Peel Group to accept the offer from the Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to reimburse the airport’s losses for two years while a new buyer is found.

Speaking about the letter, Dan Fell, Chief Executive of Doncaster Chamber, said: “As a network that is dedicated to protecting the interests of our private sector, we naturally recognise that any enterprise has the right to make commercial decisions about its own business.

“Yet we cannot ignore the fact that DSA’s impending closure has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond just the airport’s owners. If we were to lose the airport – and the opportunity it represents – at a time when the economy is already in such a fragile state, the implications would be felt across the region and it would damage the prosperity of those places we represent.

“With that in mind, the Chambers are taking a nuanced view on the matter and have been actively trying to bring parties together to save DSA. A lot of progress has been made in this regard, and there is heartening solidarity across the business community on this issue, but we urgently need the government to back us up now.

“To be clear, we are not asking the Prime Minister for a handout, but simply for her to show the political will to get involved and to urge Peel back to the negotiating table.”

Martin McKervey, Chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce Northern Regional Assembly and Chairman of the Sheffield Property Association, added: “Based on the vociferous response from our business community, and the way that potential investors have come forward in such a quick space of time, it is clear that there is strong appetite for a thriving airport in South Yorkshire.

“What’s more, if the government is truly serious about its commitment to levelling up the North, then this is an ideal opportunity to prove it. Business leaders are watching closely here to gauge if the Prime Minster can actually be taken at her word and if she is willing to address the regional inequalities that are currently rife across the UK. A failure to act here would be a damning signal that she is not.”

With less than two weeks until the airport is due to close, local officials are in a race to urge Peel to reconsider their decision, or make the government act.

The letter can be read in full here: Northern-Chambers-Letter-to-PM-re-DSA-004.pdf (azureedge.net)