Doncaster Sheffield Airport latest as plans to reopen take next step

The next steps to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) have been approved by the council.

At a meeting on Wednesday (June 19), Doncaster Council’s cabinet heard a report detailing the time frame around the council’s plan to secure an investor to reopen the airport. This comes after DSA was closed by its owner Peel Group in 2022.

The company has since agreed to lease the site to a new investor who would then take over operations. A lease was signed by Doncaster Council with Peel Group earlier this year.

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Now the board is working to secure a new investor. In the new report, the board said investors submitted their bids and investment plans to the board earlier this week.

There will now be an “intensive evaluation period” where the council will work to identify the best of these proposals. This process is scheduled to conclude at the end of July.

The chosen investor will then be notified in late July or early August, and Mayor Ros Jones will announce the decision to the public shortly thereafter.

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There will then be a period of necessary legal processes, followed by the submission of a formal business case to the South Yorkshire Combined Mayor’s Authority. Following approval, the investor will sign a contract to take over the site in September.

According to Mayor Jones, “considerable progress” is being made on the South Yorkshire Airport Town Plan, which aims to re-open the site with a surrounding investment hub. Cabinet members unanimously endorsed the plan and next steps.