Nick Fletcher MP criticises Doncaster Sheffield Airport meetings

The airport was opened to passengers in 2005 and closed in 2022

An MP has criticised meetings held to discuss an independent inquiry into the closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Conservative MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher said "many people" did not attend the events on Wednesday morning because of the timings.

Public meetings were held in Sheffield and Doncaster.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said he was "not hugely surprised it wasn't a huge turnout" for what he called "quite technical meetings".

Labour's Oliver Coppard was elected as mayor of South Yorkshire in May 2022

Mr Coppard announced plans for an inquiry "to help protect strategic infrastructure in South Yorkshire" in February 2023.

It followed the decision of owner Peel Group to close Doncaster Sheffield Airport in 2022 after it said it was financially unviable.

Announcing the inquiry, Mr Coppard's office said it would "look at whether new powers, policies or laws are needed to protect similar and new infrastructure projects in the future, at the local, national, and regional level - including through our devolution settlement."

Nick Fletcher said the meetings would have been better attended if they had been in the evening

Mr Fletcher attended Wednesday's meeting in Doncaster, where his constituency office is located.

He said: "Many people have not turned up. I think that's mainly due to the fact that it was held on a Wednesday morning on probably the first day back to work for so many people.

"Other than a couple of councillors who turned up and myself, there were only another 10 or 11 people there.

"It would have been extremely well attended, I believe, had it been done on an evening," Mr Fletcher added.

'Not hugely surprised'

Mr Coppard described the meetings as "quite technical".

"I'm not hugely surprised it wasn't a huge turnout," he said.

"It wasn't an update meeting on the progress of reopening the airport, which I have no doubt would be attended by hundreds of people."

Mr Coppard said he was "confident" about the reopening of the airport and added: "We are certainly hopeful of being able to announce something positive in the not-too-distant future."