andygardener 10 #109 Posted December 11, 2012 I worked at the crappy business park. It's still mostly empty so why they want to build more units on it is beyond me. Bring back the airport and make the runway slightly longer. Knowing our council they'll claim to support it but only authorise it if it's got some empty offices on the plot, in the middle of the runway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
TomA 10 #110 Posted December 11, 2012 The airport wont work! There are only 2 successful city airports in the whole country. Belfast and London. Both have very unique traits that allow them to be successful. London being extremely close to the city and Belfast purely because its off the mainland. We tried and failed, Coventry also. Currently theres Oxford, Gloucestershire and Carlisle that are all of a similar size. None of which are proving fruitful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
BSMan 10 #111 Posted December 11, 2012 Currently theres Oxford, Gloucestershire and Carlisle that are all of a similar size. None of which are proving fruitful. They make money, just because passenger services are negligable does not mean they dont serve an important purpose. Manchester City Airport (owned by Peel) doesn't even have a tarmac runway, and its longest is shorter than Sheffield City. The difference? They aren't allowed to build on the airfield! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tony 10 #112 Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) Coun Leigh Bramall, cabinet member for business, said: “Sheffield Council is not in a position to determine the future of the former Sheffield Airport site. It belongs to Sheffield Business Park and the check-in building was converted to offices years ago. The council has no grounds whatsoever, or indeed enforceable powers, to attempt to seek to inhibit or delay the redevelopment of the site. “It is also important to note that the former airport land is now within an Enterprise Zone and has the potential to create up to 3,000 new jobs in the city. “To return the site to a functioning and commercially viable airport would require a huge investment of tens of millions. “Any private sector investment proposal would need to approach the landowners about this first, not the council. The council’s involvement would only be that of planning authority should revised plans for the site be submitted.” Leigh Bramall is either incredibly stupid or a bare faced liar. Either way, it's not good, is it Leigh? (We know you're reading this Leigh, come on, Sheffield deserves better than this nonsense, and you're the cabinet member responsible for business apparently) ---------- Post added 11-12-2012 at 19:21 ---------- The airport wont work! The airport DID work, right up until the day it closed. Edited December 11, 2012 by Tony Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Olive 10 #113 Posted December 11, 2012 This is Sheffield Council we're talking about here. One council official parroting the official line does not an ex airport make. I could weep - it's almost as if....no it couldn't be......or could it.....the council don't want to admit they were wrong in the first place. No, that's just being silly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
SilverGhost 10 #114 Posted December 11, 2012 Put this long running wish to have an airport at sheffield to bed, it's not a viable option for the area, just the odd few small aircraft owners / flying club to base their aircraft locally. Any business person would not take it on for the airport side of the deal, it's all about the land., always was and always will be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
BSMan 10 #115 Posted December 11, 2012 SilverGhost, the news announced today suggests you are completely wrong. Perhaps you should read the thread before posting, eh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
MrH 11 #116 Posted December 11, 2012 I only came on here to wish Sheffield Forum Happy Birthday, but I have to pass comment here. I did post extensively on the other Sheffield Airport thread several years ago but, to recap: Sheffield Airport regularly had business jets visiting - Learjets, Citations, etc Sheffield Airport had several aviation related businesses operating from there (helicopters, flying schools, etc) I know, I worked for one of them It always struck me as being a strong selling point for the Business Park to have an airport and a motorway next door. Not many business parks can say that. Indeed, several of the original tenants of the business park were there precisely because of the airport Th reasons for Sheffield's closure are well rehearsed (the joint ownership of Doncaster, the inheritance of prime land for £1 if Sheffield could be shown not to be viable). It could have been (and was) a thriving business / GA Airport. I lost my job with a helicopter flying school and charter operator which was based at Sheffield City Airport. That company no longer trades - the airport it used to operate from no longer exists. I now work for a major helicopter charter operator and flying school based at a thriving airfield on the South Coast in a city which is 10% the size of Sheffield. The airfield thrives - but there is no holiday traffic! I get enquiries to fly people to the Sheffield area by helicopter, but that is difficult. There is no air/ground radio, no fire & rescue facilities, no fuel. If we are flying in the area, we have to go to Gamston, Nottingham or Leeds for fuel. If our client asks to be flown to Sheffield it is not sensible to offer to fly to Doncaster instead - a 45 minute drive each way on either end of a flight which will take little more than an hour from London does not make any sense. If Sheffield City Airport re-opened, even as a heliport only (with radio, fire & fuel facilities), I am sure I would be sending helicopters there before too long. And I am sure that it would benefit Sheffield and South Yorkshire to have a proper Heliport facility. At the moment there is no such facility between Nottingham and Leeds - a large gap on the aviation map! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil 14 #117 Posted December 11, 2012 Because it's officially the biggest centre of population in Europe without an airport - i.e. the biggest untapped market in the continent. But with 4 airports within about a one hour trip just how untapped is it really? ---------- Post added 11-12-2012 at 20:40 ---------- Given that oil is finite, prices are rising fast, carbon pricing / trading is likely to come in soon, those airlines actually making a profit are seeing their profits fall, the lack of a viable alternative to jet fuel (no electric planes and hydrogen the other great hope would have to be carried in much greater volumes and in the fuselage so it doesn't just boil off from wing tanks) just how long does mass air transit have as a viable product? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
1978 14 #118 Posted December 11, 2012 If Sheffield City Airport re-opened, even as a heliport only (with radio, fire & fuel facilities), I am sure I would be sending helicopters there before too long. And I am sure that it would benefit Sheffield and South Yorkshire to have a proper Heliport facility. At the moment there is no such facility between Nottingham and Leeds - a large gap on the aviation map! I'd like to know what finance the person who's supposedly interested in reopening the airport might have. I've a horrible feeling negotiations could take years, only to find it's all pie in the sky wishful thinking. Until I hear the name/s of the interested parties, what exactly they propose, and how and where their money would come from, the sooner the site is used as a productive business park the better. However, I can see the merit of a helicopter facility in the Sheffield area. It would take up far less space. If the old airport site isn't practicable, what about the Norton site that's been derelict for decades? Those of us with long memories may recall the euphoria when Sheffield was awarded the 1991 Summer Universiade, the World Student Games. I seem to recall we had about 4 or 5 years notice and much agony and cost that period caused us. In addition to all the sports facilities we were to have a Supertram system and international airport in time for the Games. But we didn't. We missed both those windows of opportunity quite badly. Supertram was delayed until 1994. The Airport didn't open until 1997. A trio of apparently prestigious projects now fading into the past, leaving us with a still costly legacy. If someone can quickly produce seriously challengeable figures to prove viability, and proof they have the funds to make it happen, maybe we should look at the airport again. But I doubt they'll be forthcoming any time soon. A helicopter option might be a viable compromise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Longcol 594 #119 Posted December 11, 2012 Didn't we have a heliport (or a helicopter landing pad) at Shirecliffe near the top of the ski slope? Pretty sure a few landed there after the all Sheffield FA Cup semi at Wembley in 93. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
andygardener 10 #120 Posted December 11, 2012 I'd like to know what finance the person who's supposedly interested in reopening the airport might have. I've a horrible feeling negotiations could take years, only to find it's all pie in the sky wishful thinking. Until I hear the name/s of the interested parties, what exactly they propose, and how and where their money would come from, the sooner the site is used as a productive business park the better. However, I can see the merit of a helicopter facility in the Sheffield area. It would take up far less space. If the old airport site isn't practicable, what about the Norton site that's been derelict for decades? Those of us with long memories may recall the euphoria when Sheffield was awarded the 1991 Summer Universiade, the World Student Games. I seem to recall we had about 4 or 5 years notice and much agony and cost that period caused us. In addition to all the sports facilities we were to have a Supertram system and international airport in time for the Games. But we didn't. We missed both those windows of opportunity quite badly. Supertram was delayed until 1994. The Airport didn't open until 1997. A trio of apparently prestigious projects now fading into the past, leaving us with a still costly legacy. If someone can quickly produce seriously challengeable figures to prove viability, and proof they have the funds to make it happen, maybe we should look at the airport again. But I doubt they'll be forthcoming any time soon. A helicopter option might be a viable compromise. Oddly whoever it is seems to have provided those details to the Federation of Small Businesses, rather than you, and they have gone on record saying it's viable and are liaising with the council on the matter. Obviously it would have been better had he approached "some guy on a forum with numbers for a name" to verify his sincerity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...