Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reiterated Government support for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The issue was raised in Prime Minister’s Questions by Doncaster Central MP Sally Jameson, who asked Sir Keir to put on record his support for Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones’s ongoing efforts to reopen the airport.
The Prime Minister said: “We will work with the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves giving her backing to the reopening of DSA last month but the Government has not pledged any financial support towards the scheme.
A final decision is due in summer on council plans to reopen the airport using over £100m of public money.
City of Doncaster Council has established a company called FlyDoncaster and intends to provide it with loans totalling £105m, with the low rates of interest equating to an effective grant of £90m.
It hopes to reopen the airport next year and has signed up Munich Airport International to provide operational and management services as well as agreeing a 125-year lease for the site, which closed in 2022.
Concerns about the subsidy plan have been raised by rival airports such as Leeds Bradford, while the council’s auditors Grant Thornton issued a “letter of concern” about the financial risks of the project. A recent council report has put the anticipated opening cost at £145m.
The council intends to use its share of South Yorkshire devolution funding, which is overseen by regional mayor Oliver Coppard, for the funding. Mr Coppard has delayed a decision on the plan until summer as he seeks independent advice on its value for money.
The council says its business case for the airport, which has not been made public, suggests the airport will be a catalyst for wider regeneration work, creating 5,000 direct jobs and generating an economic return of £9 for every £1 spent.
The issue was raised in Prime Minister’s Questions by Doncaster Central MP Sally Jameson, who asked Sir Keir to put on record his support for Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones’s ongoing efforts to reopen the airport.
The Prime Minister said: “We will work with the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves giving her backing to the reopening of DSA last month but the Government has not pledged any financial support towards the scheme.
A final decision is due in summer on council plans to reopen the airport using over £100m of public money.
City of Doncaster Council has established a company called FlyDoncaster and intends to provide it with loans totalling £105m, with the low rates of interest equating to an effective grant of £90m.
It hopes to reopen the airport next year and has signed up Munich Airport International to provide operational and management services as well as agreeing a 125-year lease for the site, which closed in 2022.
Concerns about the subsidy plan have been raised by rival airports such as Leeds Bradford, while the council’s auditors Grant Thornton issued a “letter of concern” about the financial risks of the project. A recent council report has put the anticipated opening cost at £145m.
The council intends to use its share of South Yorkshire devolution funding, which is overseen by regional mayor Oliver Coppard, for the funding. Mr Coppard has delayed a decision on the plan until summer as he seeks independent advice on its value for money.
The council says its business case for the airport, which has not been made public, suggests the airport will be a catalyst for wider regeneration work, creating 5,000 direct jobs and generating an economic return of £9 for every £1 spent.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In order for the Government's growth agenda to be a success, it must be felt in all areas
00:06of the country, including Doncaster and South Yorkshire, where we have green growth transport
00:12companies including hybrid air vehicles and clean power hydrogen, alongside the reopening
00:17of Doncaster Sheffield airport. Will the Prime Minister put on his record support for Mayor
00:24Ros Jones, who has led on the airport reopening, and also set out how the growth agenda will
00:29override those traditional patterns of investment mainly in the south of England and bring prosperity
00:34to South Yorkshire and, indeed, the north as a whole?
00:39Yes I will. Doncaster's got a proud industrial heritage, rail, steel and coal, an extraordinary
00:47potential for industries of the future, from hydrogen to AI, and we are focused on devolving
00:52more power and funding to metro mayors to support regional industry. We will work with
00:58the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield
01:02airport.