Funding Approved for Doncaster Sheffield Airport

[geared]

How much money have we already sunk into this project?

 

This is a disaster waiting to happen, and everyone gets to feel the pinch when the council tax continues to be pushed up and up.

[RollingJ]

4 minutes ago, geared said:

How much money have we already sunk into this project?

 

This is a disaster waiting to happen, and everyone gets to feel the pinch when the council tax continues to be pushed up and up.

As I said above - they supposedly already have a 'strategy' in place, so I'm wondering why they need another one - is it because the initial one, which surprisingly also cost £3m to 'research', was a total non-starter, or maybe they just like wasting money.

[HeHasRisen]

17 minutes ago, geared said:

How much money have we already sunk into this project?

 

This is a disaster waiting to happen, and everyone gets to feel the pinch when the council tax continues to be pushed up and up.

Yes I can't wait until we get one flight a week to Paris, at a rubbish time involving a French based plane, likely to Beauvais instead of CDG or Orly. 

 

You do hope the powers that be have actually spoken to airlines and at least have been made guarantees. 

 

[RollingJ]

3 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

You do hope the powers that be have actually spoken to airlines and at least have been made guarantees

They won't have.

[HeHasRisen]

Just now, RollingJ said:

They won't have.

If they havent, reopening it and hoping airlines flock back is idiotic. Cant imagine Wizz wanting to decamp their flights again from LBA, TUI will have chucked their one base plane elsewhere for the next 12-18 months and wont move it back instantly even if they wanted or could, and do Easyjet/Ryanair/Jet2 really want another base in an area well served by MAN/LBA/EMA and even BHX? Hmm.

[RollingJ]

1 minute ago, HeHasRisen said:

If they havent, reopening it and hoping airlines flock back is idiotic. Cant imagine Wizz wanting to decamp their flights again from LBA, TUI will have chucked their one base plane elsewhere for the next 12-18 months and wont move it back instantly even if they wanted or could, and do Easyjet/Ryanair/Jet2 really want another base in an area well served by MAN/LBA/EMA and even BHX? Hmm.

We are talking SYMCA here, so nothing would surprise me.

[SheffieldForum]

1 hour ago, RollingJ said:

Forgive me for possibly not remembering correctly, but have SYMCA not already spent millions on a 'strategy' for DSA?

 

30 minutes ago, geared said:

How much money have we already sunk into this project?

 

This is a disaster waiting to happen, and everyone gets to feel the pinch when the council tax continues to be pushed up and up.

 

21 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

As I said above - they supposedly already have a 'strategy' in place, so I'm wondering why they need another one - is it because the initial one, which surprisingly also cost £3m to 'research', was a total non-starter, or maybe they just like wasting money.

Previous Expenditure on DSA Strategy

In February 2024, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) approved an Outline Business Case (OBC) for the South Yorkshire Airport City project, which includes plans to reopen DSA. This approval granted (subject to several caveats) City of Doncaster Council access to £138 million from SYMCA funding to work with potential investors and negotiate a leasehold agreement. 

Doncaster Free Press

 

2. Total Investment to Date

As of November 2024, the SYMCA Board is considering an additional £3 million funding request to progress with reinstatement activities and continue commercial negotiations. This funding is part of the previously approved £138 million allocation. 

Doncaster Council

 

3. Necessity for Additional Funding

The initial £3.1 million was allocated to develop the Outline Business Case, which has since progressed to a Full Business Case. The additional £3 million is intended to support time-critical activities, including work on Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) accreditation and necessary infrastructure preparations. This phased approach ensures that each stage of the project is thoroughly evaluated and funded appropriately. 

Doncaster Council

 

Council Tax Implications

The funding for the DSA project is sourced from the Gainshare fund, which is part of South Yorkshire's devolution deal with the government. This fund is designated for economic growth initiatives and is separate from council tax revenues. Therefore, the investments in the airport project are not expected to directly impact council tax rates. 

[HeHasRisen]

Im not clicking the links, as you have likely read them anyway I will ask - do any of them state they have actually spoken to airlines?

[SheffieldForum]

More information on this latest development (from SYMCA):

 

South Yorkshire Leaders will be considering a report on the Business Case for South Yorkshire Airport City which could see commercial flights departing from the former Doncaster-Sheffield Airport (DSA) in Spring 2026.

 

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s Board, chaired by Mayor Oliver Coppard, will make a decision at its meeting on 12 November 2024 on providing City of Doncaster Council an additional £3m from existing earmarked resource to progress with reinstatement activity and continue commercial negotiations.

 

In February 2024, the Board considered the Outline Business Case for South Yorkshire Airport City and agreed that a Full Business Case should be produced. Since then, City of Doncaster Council has signed a 125-year lease agreement with the owners of the DSA site - Peel, and the procurement process for an operator concluded. 

 

The South Yorkshire Airport City concept would see not just the airport reopen but it is also a 10-year plan to drive economic growth in Doncaster and the wider region with the airport used as an anchor for growth at the wider Gateway East site. It will capitalise on the region being the UK’s first Investment Zone focused on advanced manufacturing engineering and creating a sustainable aviation hub. McLaren, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Hybrid Air Vehicles have already chosen to locate in the region.

 

The ambition is to create new jobs and opportunities in South Yorkshire so people can stay near and go far.

 

Initial assessment of the Full Business Case highlights the significant opportunity around South Yorkshire Airport City which could deliver 5,000 direct jobs, a Gross Value Add (GVA) uplift of £6.6bn, and a benefit cost-ratio of 9:1 – anything greater than 1.0 is expected to deliver a positive net present value to an organisation and its investors.  

 

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and City of Doncaster Council are working at pace but there are still a series of milestones to be delivered to ensure the airport is fully operational for passenger flights in 2026.   

 

Commercial negotiations between City of Doncaster Council and the bidder are still ongoing, with a particular focus on the level of public control and investment. 

 

Subject to agreement over the business case, the MCA Board have previously agreed in principle to provide £138m in support of Doncaster’s Place Investment Plan that could be used to reopen DSA and create a world leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East. 

 

Given the significant levels of investment, the Mayor and the rest of the SYMCA Board remain determined to ensure an appropriate level of public control over decisions impacting the future of the airport, and to take as much time as necessary to get the deal right. As a result, the paper being presented to the Board recommends that City of Doncaster Council is given more time to conclude commercial negotiations. The proposed release of £3m funding now would allow for the delivery of time critical activity including work on CAA accreditation and standing up the necessary infrastructure.

 

Due to the nature of the proposed public investment in the project from City of Doncaster Council, and in line with all public subsidy, it is thus appropriate to refer the details of public support to the Government’s Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU). The SAU will continue to consider the proposal with an ultimate response expected in January 2025.

 

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “As I have from the beginning of this process, I remain fully committed to reopening the airport. “That’s why I and the MCA Board have authorised the release of up to £138m in support of that plan, subject to the right deal being struck with the right operator, so we can get South Yorkshire’s airport back. 

 

“With that level of investment, and with a deal that is this significant to the whole of South Yorkshire, I am also determined to ensure we progress earnestly ensuring we build on the foundations of a leading regional economic asset. . 

 

“We will give City of Doncaster Council the financial firepower they need while continuing to work at pace to secure the future of DSA, at the same time as making sure we do everything we can to protect taxpayers’ money, and giving the new operator every chance to establish a leading regional airport here in Doncaster.”      

 

Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones said: “This is yet another major step forward in re-opening our airport and seeing planes fly from Doncaster once again. I believe that my fellow South Yorkshire leaders will fully support our Full Business Case, as they did earlier this year with our Outline Business Case.

 

“Our proposition is not just an airport but will be a hub for sustainable aviation related industry. South Yorkshire Airport City – the programme to reopen the airport - has incredible potential, to bring jobs and prosperity to Doncaster and the wider South Yorkshire region."

 

 

[SheffieldForum]

1 minute ago, HeHasRisen said:

Im not clicking the links, as you have likely read them anyway I will ask - do any of them state they have actually spoken to airlines?

 

I believe they have secured an operator for the airport, subject to a few details.

 

It is up to the operator to then secure airlines/flights, I would have thought?