Airport purchase the best outcome, says campaigner
BBCThe founder of a group campaigning to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) has praised plans to bring the site into public ownership as "the best thing that they could have done".
It was announced on Monday that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) was nearing a deal to become the freehold owner, rather than leasing the site from landowner Peel.
Mark Chadwick, founder of the group Save Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said he was "enthusiastic" about the plan, having campaigned since DSA closed in 2022.
Senior councillors will consider the details next week, as SYMCA officers warned the project was "not without risk to the taxpayer given the sums of public funding involved".
Chadwick said he hoped SYMCA's announcement would give investors, airlines and cargo operators "confidence" that the project would get off the ground.
"On the airport deal there's been a lot of different political parties trying to get one over on the other one and whenever that's happened it's caused a hiccup," he said.
Now SYMCA plans to own the site, Chadwick said he anticipated fewer delays to the airport's reopening.
The mechanic launched a Facebook group in July 2022 in support of the airport, which has since gained nearly 30,000 members.
"Sharing the stories and sharing the news and being positive about this airport has helped us get where we are now," Chadwick said.
"I don't think there's a comparable project anywhere in the country that could fetch back those returns for the amount of money that they're spending."
The total cost to buy the airport has not yet been revealed.
Glenda Sowden, 68, from Doncaster, said that although the airport could bring opportunities for young people in the region, she worried that other budgets may be affected.
"I'm getting older, are my services going to be restricted because the funds are being directed elsewhere? There's only a finite amount of money," Sowden said.
"It may be convenient to fly from Doncaster but there's more than convenience connected with this project."
Councillor Howard Rimmer, Reform UK group leader at City of Doncaster Council, said his party supported the airport reopening, but residents "deserve transparency and accountability," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"Supporting the airport does not mean accepting a deal without knowing its price, funding source or risks to local taxpayers," Rimmer said.
Elsewhere, Chadwick's enthusiasm was shared by those hopeful they could fly from DSA in the near future.
"We need places like this to open. I think everybody's so excited about it, wherever they get the money from," said Joanne Cardno, 58, from Barnsley.
"It's better than having to travel to Manchester or Leeds Bradford or East Midlands or further afield."
Stephen and Eileen Hill, both 70, said they were on one of the last flights from Doncaster Sheffield Airport before it closed in November 2022.
They flew out of DSA to start their holiday but were told by their travel agency that their return flight would have to land elsewhere as the airport was closing.
The couple were eager to fly from their local airport again.
"It's only five minutes up the road. So when it's available for booking, we're going," Stephen said.
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