A new airport.... South Yorkshire Airport City?

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Strategic Review Announcement​

Forums4airports discusses the latest press release from Doncaster Sheffield airport where the airport questions the future of the airport. The owners of the airport, the Peel Group have announced they are looking at their options as the group has decided the airport is no longer viable as an operational airport. Here's the press release:

"The Board of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) has begun a review of strategic options for the Airport. This review follows lengthy deliberations by the Board of DSA which has reluctantly concluded that aviation activity on the site may no longer be commercially viable.

DSA’s owner, the Peel Group, as the Airport’s principal funder, has reviewed the conclusions of the Board of DSA and commissioned external independent advice in order to evaluate and test the conclusions drawn, which concurs with the Board’s initial findings.

Since the Peel Group acquired the Airport site in 1999 and converted it into an international commercial airport, which opened in 2005, significant amounts have been invested in the terminal, the airfield and its operations, both in relation to the original conversion and subsequently to improve the facilities and infrastructure on offer to create an award winning airport.

However, despite growth in passenger numbers, DSA has never achieved the critical mass required to become profitable and this fundamental issue of a shortfall in passenger numbers is exacerbated by the announcement on 10 June 2022 of the unilateral withdrawal of the Wizz Air based aircraft, leaving the Airport with only one base carrier, namely TUI.

This challenge has been increased by other changes in the aviation market, the well-publicised impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly important environmental considerations. It has therefore been concluded that aviation activity may no longer be the use for the site which delivers the maximum economic and environmental benefit to the region. Against this backdrop, DSA and the Peel Group, will initiate a consultation and engagement programme with stakeholders on the future of the site and how best to maximise and capitalise on future economic growth opportunities for Doncaster and the wider Sheffield City Region.

The wider Peel Group is already delivering significant development and business opportunities on its adjoining GatewayEast development including the recent deal for over 400,000 sq ft logistics and advanced manufacturing development on site, creating hundreds of new jobs and delivering further economic investment in the region.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, which includes Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “It is a critical time for aviation globally. Despite pandemic related travel restrictions slowly drawing to a close, we are still facing ongoing obstacles and dynamic long-term threats to the future of the aviation industry. The actions by Wizz to sacrifice its base at Doncaster to shore up its business opportunities at other bases in the South of England are a significant blow for the Airport.

Now is the right time to review how DSA can best create future growth opportunities for Doncaster and for South Yorkshire. The Peel Group remains committed to delivering economic growth, job opportunities and prosperity for Doncaster and the wider region.”

DSA and the Peel Group pride themselves on being forward-thinking whilst prioritising the welfare of staff and customers alike. As such, no further public comments will be made whilst they undertake this engagement period with all stakeholders.
During the Strategic Review, the Airport will operate as normal. Therefore passengers who are due to travel to the airport, please arrive and check in as normal. If there are any disruptions with your flight, you will be contacted by your airline in good time.
For all press enquiries, please contact Charlotte Leach at [email protected]."

"Not great news for DSA or the region"

Should the government or local council foot the bill and provide a financial subsidy to keep the airport open, thoughts...?

 

the people of doncaster want a airport, and the airport site is not even 0.05 of the area what is available to develop in the airport surroundings. there is also a huge landbank next to the iport ( 8 minutes from DSA). that is the reason why the FDI say Doncaster is in the top five places in europe to invest in. and possible why Amazon have made £1.5 billion investment in the area.

it will be Peels to do what they like with it. Hence my belief that it will eventually be turned over for housing as there is a dire shortage of that.

no, it will not, they have lost permitted development rights,
and the article 4 covers not just the airport

 

the people of doncaster want a airport, and the airport site is not even 0.05 of the area what is available to develop in the airport surroundings. there is also a huge landbank next to the iport ( 8 minutes from DSA). that is the reason why the FDI say Doncaster is in the top five places in europe to invest in. and possible why Amazon have made £1.5 billion investment in the area.

it will be Peels to do what they like with it. Hence my belief that it will eventually be turned over for housing as there is a dire shortage of that.

no, it will not, they have lost permitted development rights,
and the article 4 covers not just the airport

Article 4 does not last forever, it was a temporary measure to prevent destruction of infrastructure (the landowner must apply for planning permission to do so). The land is in the local plan for aviation purposes until 2035, however if/when proven that aviation is not viable on the site Peel will be well within their rights to apply to change use, and the land is not going to do anyone any favours either losing £10million per year as an airport (on top of rent!), nor is it doing anyone any favours sitting empty, hence the current impasse, and Peel agreeing to the lease, costing them money to sit empty and now the hapless council have decided they’ll take that on instead.. Stop being so naive.

I said last night I do hope they manage to pull something out of the bag. They’ve paid a lot to a legal firm to help write up the terms and negotiate the lease, now working to find an operator. Once the organisational structure is known then we can better judge. Also, it still needs approval at regional level, SYMCA cabinet wont approve it if there is too much risk.

 

It has been interesting to read the the 'shouting at each other' posts of recent times which seem to be going nowhere, maybe because there is nowhere to go with such arguments.

It seems to me that all this talk has been about two different things.
1. The Airport
2. The Development Land Surrounding the Airport but part of the Peel Portfolio.

The reason why the DSA lovers (including rabbitfoot) are making the case for reopening is so that local people can once again fly from there (or not as the case maybe). They are NOT making the case for the surrounding land to be developed but that seems to have entered the frame now for some reason.

KARFA has tried, it would seem, to help move things back on track with his post highlighting this and I wish him luck with that.

I have always said, and have been critical of Peel (think SZD & MME) in the past, that Peel are very cute, and it must be remembered, that they are land developers not airport operators and to my mind they used DSA as a tool in their toolbox to develop the DSA site. Once they had done all they could in developing it, with as many grants as they could muster, they decided, quite rightly in my view, to call the airport a dead loss after operating it all those years without a profit in any year. They will now wait until it closes again and then get to work on developing the airport site (once market conditions are favourable).

 

It has been interesting to read the the 'shouting at each other' posts of recent times which seem to be going nowhere, maybe because there is nowhere to go with such arguments.

It seems to me that all this talk has been about two different things.
1. The Airport
2. The Development Land Surrounding the Airport but part of the Peel Portfolio.

The reason why the DSA lovers (including rabbitfoot) are making the case for reopening is so that local people can once again fly from there (or not as the case maybe). They are NOT making the case for the surrounding land to be developed but that seems to have entered the frame now for some reason.

KARFA has tried, it would seem, to help move things back on track with his post highlighting this and I wish him luck with that.

I have always said, and have been critical of Peel (think SZD & MME) in the past, that Peel are very cute, and it must be remembered, that they are land developers not airport operators and to my mind they used DSA as a tool in their toolbox to develop the DSA site. Once they had done all they could in developing it, with as many grants as they could muster, they decided, quite rightly in my view, to call the airport a dead loss after operating it all those years without a profit in any year. They will now wait until it closes again and then get to work on developing the airport site (once market conditions are favourable).

Point taken, but in fairness to rabbit foot the discussion about development surrounding the airport is the question of whether the new opco will have any ownership of that to generate additional revenue. It’s one contentious point about DSA 1.0 that it’s not possible to determine how much of the estate was DSA and how much was another Peel entity. Big ask to get the airport profitable with just a runway, terminal, car park and some hangars.

Apologies if I appear to have been entering a shouting match, not my intention.

 

the people of doncaster want a airport

not that the people of doncaster could sustain an airport anyway on their own, but clearly they didn't. i don't think peel closed it because it was "too busy" with all those people from doncaster after all

EDIT: btw that is an interesting point, if the council put it to the people of doncaster - would you like to spend £Xm per year keeping open an airport which most of you won't use, or would you prefer your money is spent on something else - i wonder which way it would go

it will be Peels to do what they like with it. Hence my belief that it will eventually be turned over for housing as there is a dire shortage of that.

indeed, when this fails it will be. so what is the point of wasting all this public money in the meantime?

 

ernst and young thehe largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC. have made 2 reports saying that DSA is more than viable as an airport. so i would trust them a lot more than the doomongers on here.
there is no need to build a terminal , car parks , or roads to DSA. they are already there.

The Development Land Surrounding the Airport but part of the Peel Portfolio.
it is not, they do not own the land surrounding the area.

article 4 will remain in place after 2035 if an aircraft still uses DSA

not that the people of doncaster could sustain an airport anyway on their own, but clearly they didn't. i don't think peel closed it because it was "too busy" with all those people from doncaster after all

DSA had 750% more passengers use the airport than LBA or EMA did after being open only 10 years.
just check there numbers after they had been open 10 years doomongers!!

 

right, so i guess Peel had no idea what they were doing, and wizz left because it was commercially successful for them - but no let's listen to a bunch of management consultants who haven't got a clue and merely want to write what the council wants to here so they can collect their fat fees.

and yes article 4 is a prime example of arrogance by the council, and incredibly concerning to any business who would want to operate in their area.

i am sorry but this is just delusional.

 

peel will not be the only delveloper at DSA , Panattoni will be doing major projects.

Is the Panatonni factory still sat as a white elephant it was last time I passed the airport a few months back?

It's not the only local industrial development that's not exactly taken off either locally. The newly built units on the A638 appear virtually empty although a Great Bear sign now adorns one of the two units.

The only way DSA should reopen is if it is virtually guaranteed to be a success on the evidence of what happened before it won't be. Who bar TUI do you think will be interested I ask as a DSA supporter the sums simply don't add up like others have stated too why would TUI want to mess around other airports taking capacity back out that's recently been added too boot.

I would think the likely scenario is the place could reopen and be back shut rather quickly in fact frighteningly quickly. On the other hand what sort of operator will really fancy the gig when push comes to shove and if any really do how do they plan to turn the place around. Airports that shut don't reopen why so much confidence DSA will in some quarters?.

I'm afraid your latest post re DSA having 750% more passengers use it 10 years in to operations is simply ridiculous course the figures going too be huge the number using airports these days to when the likes of EMA opened are on a totally different scale.

 

Not having a go at anyone really Pug ,sorry if it appeared that way to you.

As you said there are a number of questions that need answering at some stage regarding the land outside the airport and I don't know enough about that to comment on it, so steered well clear in my post. I am with the majority though who thinks that the airport, whoever comes, won't generate enough cash to satisfy airline needs alone.

 

why wizz air left

In June 2022, Wizz announced that it would close its base, accusing the airport of being 'unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement. ' DSA management meanwhile accused W9 of failing to reciprocate its commitments to the airport.7 Nov 2022

of course you peel lovers will say that was nothing to do with them

 

deleted

sorry too busy "loving peel" this evening to carry on i am afraid

 

@rabbitfoot sorry I apologise for not welcoming you to Forums4airports so thank you for joining and adding some positive to the debate. Also, just for information you can quote peoples posts by selecting the quote function underneath the post in question and it will automatically insert it into your reply.

 

One of the world’s largest industrial developers, Panattoni, has finalised contracts to purchase an 18.4 acre plot to build a 417,570 sq ft building for logistics and manufacturing.
Panattoni Doncaster 420 will sit alongside the consented Central Plaza retail, leisure and community scheme.
Dan Burn, development director at Panattoni, said: “This well-located site with direct access to local, regional and global markets is a superb addition to our speculative development programme. South Yorkshire is rapidly forging a reputation as one of the UK’s hottest distribution locations. Record take up across Yorkshire in 2021 has resulted in the supply of units over 100,000 sq ft dipping to the lowest level ever seen.”
Humber shipping access and rail links with the Doncaster IPort terminal just minutes away were key attractions for the US-headquartered firm’s UK operations. A rail link has recently been established between the South Yorkshire terminal and Port of Immingham, the UK's largest freight port.

i think peel own 800 acres at the airport but it can only be used for aviation and infrastructure for aero activities. but peel have a right just to sit on the land they own.

i am not actually a DSA lover, but my heart is in the north , and i just want south yorkshire to thrive.

deleted

sorry too busy "loving peel" this evening to carry on i am afraid

no offense meant, sorry

 

why wizz air left

In June 2022, Wizz announced that it would close its base, accusing the airport of being 'unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement. ' DSA management meanwhile accused W9 of failing to reciprocate its commitments to the airport.7 Nov 2022

of course you peel lovers will say that was nothing to do with them

Think without knowing the full facts it is hard to judge who was in the right/wrong?

 

Is the Panatonni factory still sat as a white elephant it was last time I passed the airport a few months back?

It's not the only local industrial development that's not exactly taken off either locally. The newly built units on the A638 appear virtually empty although a Great Bear sign now adorns one of the two units.

The only way DSA should reopen is if it is virtually guaranteed to be a success on the evidence of what happened before it won't be. Who bar TUI do you think will be interested I ask as a DSA supporter the sums simply don't add up like others have stated too why would TUI want to mess around other airports taking capacity back out that's recently been added too boot.

I would think the likely scenario is the place could reopen and be back shut rather quickly in fact frighteningly quickly. On the other hand what sort of operator will really fancy the gig when push comes to shove and if any really do how do they plan to turn the place around. Airports that shut don't reopen why so much confidence DSA will in some quarters?.

I'm afraid your latest post re DSA having 750% more passengers use it 10 years in to operations is simply ridiculous course the figures going too be huge the number using airports these days to when the likes of EMA opened are on a totally different scale.

it will be empty as it is not finished yet, the biggest in the north of england

Is the Panatonni factory still sat as a white elephant it was last time I passed the airport a few months back?

https://www.loopnet.co.uk/Listing/Lincoln-Green-Way-Doncaster/25784247/

still not finished

 

Having posted the post (1193) above rabbitfoot I suppose you also have a view on whether the airport, when it reopens, will do what the proponents of the move to reopen it have been arguing for, ie Peel were were wrong to close it in the first place and that there is a local need for the airport, therefore if run properly it will become profitable?

I ask this as it is the fundamental point in the Council's argument backing their efforts to get the funding to start them off and because there is a local need for the airport. Not once, as far as I'm aware, have they mentioned development of any ancillary land being part of their project although I may be wrong on that. If I am please point me towards that utterance.

As someone who wants South Yorkshire to thrive I guess you will also want the airport to make a profit so that the operators stick with it as do the airlines that buy into the idea of operating from there. Am I right in assuming that?

 

Having posted the post (1193) above rabbitfoot I suppose you also have a view on whether the airport, when it reopens, will do what the proponents of the move to reopen it have been arguing for, ie Peel were were wrong to close it in the first place and that there is a local need for the airport, therefore if run properly it will become profitable?

I ask this as it is the fundamental point in the Council's argument backing their efforts to get the funding to start them off and because there is a local need for the airport. Not once, as far as I'm aware, have they mentioned development of any ancillary land being part of their project although I may be wrong on that. If I am please point me towards that utterance.

As someone who wants South Yorkshire to thrive I guess you will also want the airport to make a profit so that the operators stick with it as do the airlines that buy into the idea of operating from there. Am I right in assuming that?

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is one of the newest and fastest growing regional airports in the UK. It represents a significant economic asset for Doncaster, the Sheffield region and beyond.
• Its draft Master Plan seeks to transform the regional airport into a major intercontinental gateway and a significant mixed-use growth area (GatewayEast), which will include the provision of new airside and landside commercial development, housing, hotels, retail and community facilities.
• We have been advising Peel / DSA both through the planning application process and promoting GatewayEast through the emerging Doncaster Local Plan.
• We provided Sustainability services for the project, alongside strategic communications advice in respect of the wider consultation of the draft Master Plan
• 
  
• the gateway east project/ is all about land develpment

 

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is one of the newest and fastest growing regional airports in the UK. It represents a significant economic asset for Doncaster, the Sheffield region and beyond.
• Its draft Master Plan seeks to transform the regional airport into a major intercontinental gateway and a significant mixed-use growth area (GatewayEast), which will include the provision of new airside and landside commercial development, housing, hotels, retail and community facilities.
• We have been advising Peel / DSA both through the planning application process and promoting GatewayEast through the emerging Doncaster Local Plan.
• We provided Sustainability services for the project, alongside strategic communications advice in respect of the wider consultation of the draft Master Plan
• 
  
• the gateway east project/ is all about land develpment

Those top two bullet points turned out to be absolute nonsense. I'm not actually sure what point you are making by posting something that's clearly historical and proved to be very wide of the mark.

I seem to recall claims that DSA would, within 10 years, be Yorkshire's premier airport. That didn't go well either.

Now, these expert consultants claim that if it reopens it will reach only a couple of million passengers in 10 years, which will not be enough to keep it open unless there's a healthy number of freight flights on a regular basis, which is highly unlikely given the growth of freight at East Midlands. This couple of million passengers though apparently will generate around 50% more GDP to the South Yorkshire Economy than LBA will generate with 7m passengers (which is over 3 times the projected passenger throughput at DSA). Such figures dont exactly inspire confidence in the consultants employed to tell Doncaster's Mayor what she wanted to hear.

It's worth noting that probably the best respected Aviation Consultancy, in the UK, who are not involved in DSA at all, felt the need anyway to express concern at what's going on, stating that a reopened DSA is unlikely to be viable. I wonder why they were not asked their opinion by Doncaster Council?

 

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is one of the newest and fastest growing regional airports in the UK. It represents a significant economic asset for Doncaster, the Sheffield region and beyond.
• Its draft Master Plan seeks to transform the regional airport into a major intercontinental gateway and a significant mixed-use growth area (GatewayEast), which will include the provision of new airside and landside commercial development, housing, hotels, retail and community facilities.
• We have been advising Peel / DSA both through the planning application process and promoting GatewayEast through the emerging Doncaster Local Plan.
• We provided Sustainability services for the project, alongside strategic communications advice in respect of the wider consultation of the draft Master Plan
• 
  
• the gateway east project/ is all about land develpment

who is "we"?

 

who is "we"?

we is Turley who where peel and dmbc advisors

Those top two bullet points turned out to be absolute nonsense. I'm not actually sure what point you are making by posting something that's clearly historical and priced to be very wide of the mark.

the point im making is there is plenty of scope for development for cargo ,and a massive landbank which LBA does not have, nor does it have the transport links that DSA as .

what you all forget LBA become a regional airport in 1985 the biggest airport in yorkshire and in 1997 1.2million passengers. DSA was moving in the right direction and then covid

dsa in the same period of years reached 1.3 million.