Tories block £30m money that might assist Labour mayor reopen northern airport
Tory Ministers have blocked £30 million in funding that might assist a Labour mayor re-open a northern airport, the Mirror understands.
Local Labour leaders have been working to revive the scuppered Doncaster Sheffield Airport, offering transport within the north a much-needed enhance after Rishi Sunak ’s scrapping of HS2. They hoped to make use of a £30 million money pot – initially earmarked in 2022 for a rail hyperlink to the airport earlier than it closed – to assist pay for constructing work on the website. But Tory Transport Secretary Mark Harper has refused to allow them to re-route the money – which can seemingly go unspent inside the 5 yr time restrict.
Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Labour Metro Mayor wrote to Mr Harper in December, urging him to assume once more. “While there remain significant hurdles for us to overcome if we are to reopen [the airport],” Mr Coppard wrote in the letter, released to a local campaign group under Freedom of Information laws. “Your help in allowing us to access [the funds] for the airport would be a clear sign of your willingness to listen to local concerns and priorities.”
He added: “I know you have been unwilling to make that commitment in the past – on behalf of the people of Doncaster and South Yorkshire, and all those people across the north hoping to see [the airport] reopened – I would be grateful if you would now reconsider that decision.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) saw both domestic flights to London and low-cost airlines taking holidaymakers to European destinations. But it closed in November 2022, with owners Peel Group claiming it was not “commercially viable” – regardless of Mr Coppard and Doncaster Council providing to underwrite operations for a yr whereas a brand new airport operator could possibly be discovered.
In August, this newspaper revealed the Mayor’s workplace and Labour-run Doncaster council had been on the verge of agreeing a cope with Peel Group to tackle a 100-year lease on the positioning – which might see flights taking off once more inside two years. A Department for Transport spokesperson mentioned: “We strongly encourage [airport owners] the Peel Group to work with native leaders to discover a answer for the Doncaster Sheffield airport.”
