No blank cheque for airport reopening, says mayor

There will be no "blank cheque" to pay for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has warned.

DSA closed in 2022 with owners Peel Group declaring the airport unviable.

City of Doncaster Council has since formed an arms-length company, supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), to reopen the site.

But when questioned about the scheme Coppard said: "We absolutely have to protect taxpayers' money as well as doing everything we can to reopen DSA and expanding our gateway as a world-leading sustainable aviation hub."

Coppard was questioned by a member of the public at the SYMCA board on Tuesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The questioner said September was a critical time for the airport plan and asked if appropriate protections were in place for taxpayers and to make sure the project did not collapse.

They also wanted to know how much public money would be recoverable if the reopening did not go ahead.

Coppard responded: "We want to see that progress but public funding, as people would expect, has to be protected and the right safeguards must be in place."

He explained that SYMCA and City of Doncaster Council were involved in ongoing negotiations with landowner and former operator Peel.

Most aspects of the lease variations had been agreed, while the turnover rent clause remained under active discussion, he said.

"As I have said from the beginning of this process, whilst I want to see swift progress on this lease negotiation, it has to be the right deal."

The mayor added that work taking place on the site had not stopped during the negotiations.

It is expected the airport will reopen in spring next year.

Dave Pike from the regional Trades Union Congress asked what was being done to ensure that contracts with companies involved with the airport would include protection for workers' pay and conditions, health and safety and trade union recognition.

Coppard said equality questions were included in the procurement process and that while he could not make a promise on behalf of operators Fly Doncaster, the operators shared those values.

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