Councillors have voted to progress plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport using £138m in devolution funding.
Following the closure of the airport in November 2022, City of Doncaster Council has set out plans to lease the airport site from its owner and find a new operator.
This morning, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s board voted unanimously to approve progression of the plans to a full business case.
The project could be funded by Doncaster’s £138m share of South Yorkshire’s devolution funding. The cash is due to be released in 26 annual instalments of around £5.3m.
The combined authority did note that costs are likely to exceed these annual allocations, so the council may have to borrow in the short term, and said the project involves ‘significant financial risk’.
It said a balanced view of risks and reward will not be possible until negotiations with site owners and potential operators are complete.
Doncaster council said 2,700 jobs could be recovered, and more created, through the development of the wider area into a centre for ‘advanced manufacturing and sustainable aviation’.
However, it notes that ‘reinstatement of aviation activity will inherently lead to related air-based carbon emissions’.
