Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Business leaders join airspace fight

Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed last November

Business leaders have urged the government to protect the airspace above Doncaster Sheffield airport.

The airport shut in November after owners Peel Group said it was no longer financially viable.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has begun downgrading the airspace to the lowest possible "uncontrolled" level.

Three Chambers of Commerce said it was "essential" the airspace was not reallocated to protect the site for a future buyer to reopen it.

The chief executives of the Doncaster, Sheffield, and Barnsley & Rotherham groups have written to the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper MP, calling for the site's current status to be preserved, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"As negotiations between the airport owner and City of Doncaster Council are ongoing, and the public acquisition of the airport by Compulsory Purchase Order remains a possibility, we believe it's essential for the airspace above DSA not to be reallocated," the letter said.

"Any changes to current airspace arrangements could jeopardise the process and efforts to protect the region's economy."

Many staff at the airport were made redundant last year

The CAA has said the managed airspace is due to lapse unless another air traffic control provider comes forward before Friday.

If no provider is found, it would be downgraded on 18 May.

The Sheffield Property Association, representatives from the Manufacturing Forum, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Private Sector Board Local Enterprise Partnership also signed the letter.

They represent 17,000 businesses which employ more than 2.4m workers.

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones has also called to protect the site's airspace status.