Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a step closer to taking to the skies after the council agreed a 125-year lease for the site
Earlier today (21 March)y, Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones announced that a lease has been signed for an operator to take over Doncaster Sheffield Airport for 125 years.
The announcement follows over a year of detailed and complex negotiations with landowners the Peel Group. The lease agreement is the first stage in the process to reopen the airport.
The 125-year lease will help to ensure the future of the airport site with an ambition to return planes to the skies from the city.
The next stage is the appointment of an airport operator to manage the operational airport.
Doncaste Mayor, Ros Jones said: “This is a significant day in our ambition to reopen the airport as the lease has been signed,”
“I was determined to find a way to secure the future of aviation in Doncaster and this agreement helps us along the way to reopening our airport and seeing planes taking off once again.
“This is a major step in the reopening process. The next is appointing an operator and investor who will manage and develop the airport. This process is well underway and I am optimistic that I can announce a partnership later in the spring.
“I would like to personally thank council officers who have worked tirelessly with great dedication, insight, determination and skill to get us to where we are today. This has been no mean feat. Let’s look forward to the future with an airport that will help boost the economic and growth fortunes of our city, South Yorkshire and the north.
“I would also like to thank my fellow South Yorkshire Leaders for backing the efforts of me and this council to save and reopen our airport. This airport is for the whole of South Yorkshire.”
The lease signing forms part of the South Yorkshire Airport City programme which City of Doncaster Council put in place dedicated to working towards reopening the airport.
The programme covers all the technical, legal, procurement and financial work necessary to progress securing the site and preparing essential requirements ahead of a partnership with an operator.
The programme is not the name of the airport which would be determined at a future date.
