Airport investors submit bids to council

The airport closed in November 2022 after owners Peel Group said it was financially unviable

A closed airport could be handed over to new investors by as early as September as plans are put in place to reopen it.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport was shut in 2022 when owners Peel Group said it was not financially viable.

Potential investors submitted bids earlier this week to Doncaster Council with an announcement of an operator to be made public by early August, a report has said.

Following approval of the business case, the bidder is set to sign a contract to take over the site in September, it added.

On Wednesday, the council's cabinet heard a report detailing the timeframe for the council’s plan to procure a new investor to reopen the airport.

In March, the council agreed a 125-year lease of the airport site with Peel Group following a year of "detailed and complex negotiations", it said.

The report shared investors submitted their bids detailing their plans to the council earlier this week.

An “intense period of evaluation” in which the council will identify the best proposal is now set to take place and is expected to conclude at the end of July.

The chosen investor will be informed in late July or early August, with an announcement due shortly afterwards.

What has happened so far?

• Doubts started around the future of the airport in July 2022 after directors said it "may no longer be commercially viable"

• The airport closed in November 2022, with owners Peel Group citing high costs

• The following month, an application for a judicial review into the closure was refused by a court

• In June 2023, South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard agreed to help fund a council bid to reopen the site

• Doncaster Council voted to support the reopening in September 2023 after a report said it was "financially viable"

• Plans for an outline business case moved forward in February

• The council agreed a 125-year lease for the site in March.

Necessary legal processes will take place later this year, followed by the submission of a formal business case to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Following approval of the business case, the bidder is set to sign a contract to take over the site in September.

Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said “considerable progress” continues to be made on the South Yorkshire Airport City plan, which aims to reopen the site with a surrounding hub of investment.

Cabinet members unanimously supported the plan and the next steps going forward.

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