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...?

 

i have been to LBA twice this week , ( dropping off some poles).
it seems twice as busy as last years, carpark full, massive ques at departure.
DSA will never been as big, ever, but south yorkshire needs an airport.
it takes longer to drive to LBA form leeds city center , than it does to get to DSA from sheffield.
the vast majority of people in sheffield, rotherham, barnsley,doncaster and lincoln want an airport.
they will not care if it cost another few pound a year on council tax.

The market said otherwise, we’ve been through this countless times. Sheffield should have been more supportive of Sheffield City Airport for the business connectivity it was best placed to offer. People who just want to go on holiday from South Yorkshire have plenty of choice, travelling an hour or so to EMA, BHX, LBA, MAN and even HUY is no hardship once or twice a year. In fact they have too much choice to sustain yet another airport because people will not stop using those other options as evidenced when DSA 1.0 was open.

 

Had the designated airport statuses not been in place during the 70s and 80's maybe Manchester Airport wouldn't have grown so large and there would've been more opportunities for other regional airports in the North.

Right now the different regions in the North need to be realistic. There are opportunities with the possibility of more long haul point to point flights from Manchester, more hub connections from Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool and East Midlands.

Unfortunately is isn't realistic to expect a reopened Doncaster.

 

Lincoln already has an airport, which is highlighted by regular mileage boards on the A15 as Humberside (Lincoln is more or less equidistant from HUY and DSA at about 33 miles). By avoiding subsidies to low cost carriers and remaining a full-service airport it has been able to provide three daily KLM rotations which provide vital business connectivity and are a useful leisure facility.

 

Lincoln already has an airport, which is highlighted by regular mileage boards on the A15 as Humberside (Lincoln is more or less equidistant from HUY and DSA at about 33 miles). By avoiding subsidies to low cost carriers and remaining a full-service airport it as able to provide three daily KLM rotations which provide vital business connectivity and are a useful leisure facility.

It’s also not a terrible journey to EMA from Lincoln/Newark. Well within a 60 minute drive time. Lincoln has a population of at best 150,000, it probably doesn’t have a high propensity to fly and the surrounding area is mostly agricultural. It’s also convenient for people to get to HUY than anywhere else, particularly when you consider the Eastern side of Lincoln and the towns in that part of Lincolnshire.

Casting minds back to pre-2008 HUY was one of the fastest growing airports in the country owing to its relative remoteness to the rest of the airport network and so it’s USP was convenience for people who didn’t want to travel 120 minutes to one of the other airports. It still has this value above and beyond what DSA offered and in truth DSA appealed to the same market because Sheffield, as we’ve discussed, is already well served. Doncaster is inherently within the target market of HUY and can be reached within 45 minutes down a motorway. It makes far more sense to focus attention on HUY which is profitable, operational and has that niche aviation useage already that simply cannot and will not be replicated by reopening DSA. Doncaster itself is not a big enough conurbation to support an airport.

I can almost guarantee that if DSA hadn’t opened HUY would be a fairly big player for people in East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and parts of South Yorkshire and North Notts. I’m certain TUI would have opened a base and I fully believe Ryanair and/or one other low cost/leisure operator would have been able to carve out a reasonable presence there. Crucially it would have broken even at a much more modest (realistic) sustainable passenger throughput. It still could, with probably 10-20% of the stated figure for reopening DSA.

 

i have been to LBA twice this week , ( dropping off some poles).
it seems twice as busy as last years, carpark full, massive ques at departure.
DSA will never been as big, ever, but south yorkshire needs an airport.
it takes longer to drive to LBA form leeds city center , than it does to get to DSA from sheffield.
the vast majority of people in sheffield, rotherham, barnsley,doncaster and lincoln want an airport.
they will not care if it cost another few pound a year on council tax.

It’s 8 miles from the centre of Leeds to LBA - no way is it quicker to do the 25 miles from the centre of Sheffield to DSA….Add to that the most frequent flyers and most affluent areas of Sheffield are to the west of the city and it is usually just as quick to get to MAN from for instance Dore as it is to DSA….Conversely the most affluent areas around LBA are to the north and West of both Leeds and Bradford and can reach LBA rely easily without traffic issues even at rush hour….

 

According to google maps right now, the drive times from city town halls to manchester airport T2 multi storey are

Liverpool : 55 mins
Leeds : 65 mins
Sheffield : 85 mins

Traffic is reported as ‘usual’ on these routes with no delay.

As a comparison, Trafalgar Square to Heathrow is 55 mins by car and Trafalgar Square to Gatwick is 85 mins. Obviously, public transport options better in London, but actually not that much quicker.

Personally, I suspect had someone had the foresight to set up Manchester Airport as a northern cooperative with councils in merseyside, yorkshire etc sharing in investment, ownership, dividends etc and a focus on public transport options, we’d have seen a different picture emerge. As it is, the different areas are inherently competitive rather than cooperative. What Doncaster council are doing is exactly what i’d expect, say, Liverpool to do if the private sector decided it couldn’t make LPL work.

 

According to google maps right now, the drive times from city town halls to manchester airport T2 multi storey are

Liverpool : 55 mins
Leeds : 65 mins
Sheffield : 85 mins

Traffic is reported as ‘usual’ on these routes with no delay.

As a comparison, Trafalgar Square to Heathrow is 55 mins by car and Trafalgar Square to Gatwick is 85 mins. Obviously, public transport options better in London, but actually not that much quicker.

Personally, I suspect had someone had the foresight to set up Manchester Airport as a northern cooperative with councils in merseyside, yorkshire etc sharing in investment, ownership, dividends etc and a focus on public transport options, we’d have seen a different picture emerge. As it is, the different areas are inherently competitive rather than cooperative. What Doncaster council are doing is exactly what i’d expect, say, Liverpool to do if the private sector decided it couldn’t make LPL work.

Whilst I agree that a more national framework would have given a different picture I don’t agree about the LPL/DSA example. That’s not a reasonable stance to take. LPL does work, it also serves an internationally renowned city with a population of over 1.5 million and access to around 7 million ( about the same as MAN) in the North West/North Wales and West Midlands region. Indeed LPL was a public concern until taken on by BAe in the mid 90’s and then Peel who discovered a way into the market by making the airport low-cost friendly, something nobody can debate they did a very good job at.

Saying if LPL wasn’t a success under Peel is a moot point, it’s whataboutary. It was, and DSA wasn’t despite trying. The public sector are terrible at running airports in this country and the fact that Peel and VAS couldn’t replicate the success of LPL at this side of the Pennines speaks volumes. What they’re trying to do is manipulate a market that doesn’t want or need manipulating. They’re only trying to reopen it because it was a political pledge as they shot from the hip at the time and didn’t bother to actually do any research into why the airport struggled (not publicly anyway).

Drive times are a pointless concept away from the smaller airport. Busier areas like London and Greater Manchester are always going to witness excessive travel times. I once spent 3 hours driving from EWR to JFK for instance, but the fact they’re busy is the reason their airports are busy and the reason they have a gravitational pull from the outlying towns and cities such as Sheffield and Leeds even if it takes 60-90 minutes to reach MAN from those cities, it’s just what people have done for decades. Just basic economics and economies of scale at play.

Public servants aren’t there purely to just do what the public want, sometimes they have to do what’s best for the public even if that goes against popular opinion. DSA is a case in point. At what point have the Council or SYMCA seriously balanced the supposed benefits (and risks) of reopening DSA against the benefits/risks of turning the site over for other uses? It’s not their job to try to make the square peg fit the round hole because this is irresponsible and a reckless approach to public spending. If the airport was viable, either as a private or public concern, then fair enough. But it’s not, and judging by the latest news of even more money going into the due diligence process alarm bells should be deafening right now.

 

Surely, if anyone wants to from the City Centre to LBA, they would go by bus.

 

Surely, if anyone wants to from the City Centre to LBA, they would go by bus.

Nah they would go by train. Oh wait! Yes we are still waiting........

 

i have been to LBA twice this week , ( dropping off some poles).
it seems twice as busy as last years, carpark full, massive ques at departure.
DSA will never been as big, ever, but south yorkshire needs an airport.
it takes longer to drive to LBA form leeds city center , than it does to get to DSA from sheffield.
the vast majority of people in sheffield, rotherham, barnsley,doncaster and lincoln want an airport.
they will not care if it cost another few pound a year on council tax.

You might have an idea there @rabbitfoot if the funding for some reason is not released and the majority in South Yorkshire want the airport, tell them how much it's going to cost to open and to run and the amount of additional funding to be raised by an increase in their Council Tax or other local mechanism and let them vote on it! Majority vote wins - local democracy at its finest!

 

Whilst I agree that a more national framework would have given a different picture I don’t agree about the LPL/DSA example. That’s not a reasonable stance to take. LPL does work, it also serves an internationally renowned city with a population of over 1.5 million and access to around 7 million ( about the same as MAN) in the North West/North Wales and West Midlands region. Indeed LPL was a public concern until taken on by BAe in the mid 90’s and then Peel who discovered a way into the market by making the airport low-cost friendly, something nobody can debate they did a very good job at.

Saying if LPL wasn’t a success under Peel is a moot point, it’s whataboutary. It was, and DSA wasn’t despite trying. The public sector are terrible at running airports in this country and the fact that Peel and VAS couldn’t replicate the success of LPL at this side of the Pennines speaks volumes. What they’re trying to do is manipulate a market that doesn’t want or need manipulating. They’re only trying to reopen it because it was a political pledge as they shot from the hip at the time and didn’t bother to actually do any research into why the airport struggled (not publicly anyway).

Drive times are a pointless concept away from the smaller airport. Busier areas like London and Greater Manchester are always going to witness excessive travel times. I once spent 3 hours driving from EWR to JFK for instance, but the fact they’re busy is the reason their airports are busy and the reason they have a gravitational pull from the outlying towns and cities such as Sheffield and Leeds even if it takes 60-90 minutes to reach MAN from those cities, it’s just what people have done for decades. Just basic economics and economies of scale at play.

Public servants aren’t there purely to just do what the public want, sometimes they have to do what’s best for the public even if that goes against popular opinion. DSA is a case in point. At what point have the Council or SYMCA seriously balanced the supposed benefits (and risks) of reopening DSA against the benefits/risks of turning the site over for other uses? It’s not their job to try to make the square peg fit the round hole because this is irresponsible and a reckless approach to public spending. If the airport was viable, either as a private or public concern, then fair enough. But it’s not, and judging by the latest news of even more money going into the due diligence process alarm bells should be deafening right now.

My point, I suppose, is that regional UK is inherently parochial — shaped partly by culture and history, and partly by a centralised funding model that pits region against region in the competition for state investment. The geographical boundaries of these rivalries are often absurdly narrow. It’s less than an hour from Liverpool to Manchester Airport, yet just last week the Mayor of Liverpool said this:

“Right now, we’re the largest city region in Europe without a hub airport connection. That’s not just an inconvenience – it’s a major barrier to growth. Direct global access would be a game-changer for our businesses, unlocking international trade, tourism, and investment that’s long overdue.”

Whether he’s objectively right or not is beside the point — what matters is that this kind of statement reflects how politicians across the UK view their patch. They see economic development through a fiercely local lens, and infrastructure is often tied to identity as much as utility.

When it comes to airports, in particular, we see how devolution allows local leaders to act independently of central government. Cardiff, Teesside, Prestwick, City of Derry… are any of these airports strictly necessary from a commercial perspective? Unlikely. But they exist because local authorities view them as symbols of status and autonomy, not just transport infrastructure.

To my earlier point — would LBA or LPL be considered essential if Manchester Airport were genuinely treated as a shared strategic asset rather than a symbol of Greater Manchester’s economic dominance? Possibly not.

So my personal view — and that’s all this is — is that what’s happening in Doncaster isn’t surprising to me. Given a degree of devolution and spending autonomy, they’re choosing to prioritise something they believe will signal investment, attention etc. They feel under-invested in and overshadowed by regions with more soft power, and this is a way of changing that.

 

My point, I suppose, is that regional UK is inherently parochial — shaped partly by culture and history, and partly by a centralised funding model that pits region against region in the competition for state investment. The geographical boundaries of these rivalries are often absurdly narrow. It’s less than an hour from Liverpool to Manchester Airport, yet just last week the Mayor of Liverpool said this:

“Right now, we’re the largest city region in Europe without a hub airport connection. That’s not just an inconvenience – it’s a major barrier to growth. Direct global access would be a game-changer for our businesses, unlocking international trade, tourism, and investment that’s long overdue.”

Whether he’s objectively right or not is beside the point — what matters is that this kind of statement reflects how politicians across the UK view their patch. They see economic development through a fiercely local lens, and infrastructure is often tied to identity as much as utility.

When it comes to airports, in particular, we see how devolution allows local leaders to act independently of central government. Cardiff, Teesside, Prestwick, City of Derry… are any of these airports strictly necessary from a commercial perspective? Unlikely. But they exist because local authorities view them as symbols of status and autonomy, not just transport infrastructure.

To my earlier point — would LBA or LPL be considered essential if Manchester Airport were genuinely treated as a shared strategic asset rather than a symbol of Greater Manchester’s economic dominance? Possibly not.

So my personal view — and that’s all this is — is that what’s happening in Doncaster isn’t surprising to me. Given a degree of devolution and spending autonomy, they’re choosing to prioritise something they believe will signal investment, attention etc. They feel under-invested in and overshadowed by regions with more soft power, and this is a way of changing that.

I can see what you’re saying and in some cases would agree, but airports are different. They’re inherently in a competitive market where the private sector risk is stacked heavily against them. Airlines are high risk low reward ventures and they rely mostly on volume. If they can’t get that volume then they don’t stick around because doing so could be the difference between profitability and heavy losses (even when subsidies come in to play, as we saw previously).

Local pride is problematic in this country. I’m a big believer in a Greater Humber region for instance, due primarily to the industrial synergies on both sides of the river and the belief that working together is better than a fractious relationship split across the river. However historic loyalty to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire has prevented this, and so break it up they have. We also see similar views in South Yorkshire where people in Doncaster can’t understand why MCA monies are being channeled towards the Super Tram, hence I believe some of the leverage Ros Jones has over Coppard regarding DSA.

In truth the U.K. is a small landmass with a relatively large population. If the U.K. had pursued a true national airport framework then we’d have an airport at Burtonwood and one between Ferrybridge and Goole and that would be that. But they didn’t and so we don’t, and airlines will only go to the places they know they’ll fill their aircraft and avoid those places which threaten to split their loads and lead to internal competition on cost. The private sector runs airports and those that are propped up by the public sector were already open and require much smaller cash injections than a DSA would.

So I can understand why they want to reopen it, but they are wrong in their assumptions and they’ve approached this with a high degree of naivety and have a strategy based solely on hope. This is why I fully believe the project should be shelved.

 

Following on from that the thing that could have radically altered things in the north (and midlands) is if the plans to close LPL and MAN occurred in the 1950s to form a much larger airport at Burtonwood near Warrington actually took place https://mywarrington.org/raf-burtonwood

"n the late 1950s, it was suggested that Burtonwood would be a better site for a regional airport than either of the sites now occupied by Liverpool John Lennon Airport or Manchester (Ringway) Airport. However, subsidence caused by coal mining, plus civic pride, prevented action being taken on the proposal"

Imagine fast frequent train links across link the west and east coasts of England. Maybe a couple of runways. Much more appealing for "major" carriers as there'd be no splitting the market between LBA, LPL and MAN

part of the M62 goes over the old runway and the motorway service station is also on the site of the old airport.

 

Following on from that the thing that could have radically altered things in the north (and midlands) is if the plans to close LPL and MAN occurred in the 1950s to form a much larger airport at Burtonwood near Warrington actually took place https://mywarrington.org/raf-burtonwood

"n the late 1950s, it was suggested that Burtonwood would be a better site for a regional airport than either of the sites now occupied by Liverpool John Lennon Airport or Manchester (Ringway) Airport. However, subsidence caused by coal mining, plus civic pride, prevented action being taken on the proposal"

Imagine fast frequent train links across link the west and east coasts of England. Maybe a couple of runways. Much more appealing for "major" carriers as there'd be no splitting the market between LBA, LPL and MAN

part of the M62 goes over the old runway and the motorway service station is also on the site of the old airport.

During the motorway building phase there were suggestions in Yorkshire that an airport be built somewhere between Ferrybridge and Goole, not too far from the former RAF Snaith. There was also a suggestion to build one on Thorne Moor. The Governments of those times decided that civic pride and local knowledge should drive regional airports and, short of a few airports ‘of national significance’ this is what happened. It’s why you have an airport in Yeadon that, whilst it’s close to a large population base, it’s a pain to get to from outside of West Yorkshire. It’s why South Yorkshire never got its airport in a timely manner, and it’s why after utilising Brough and Leconfield, Kirmington was developed.

A fully strategic plan would have had a completely different outcome. But it’s far too late now and so we have to make use of what’s available to us.

 

Thanks for this. I note the spam the past couple of weeks of members of Doncaster Chamber making short video statements about why Doncaster needs an airport, only one is an actual aviation company who are based there anyway and as such have a vested interest in it reopening to save them relocating.

This will continue through to the decision which appears now to be a foregone conclusion after having been told presumably that it’s not going to work by companies that do know, hence Bantamzens astute observation.

Doncaster Chamber would be best going to airline execs, air freight carriers and other aviation companies to get them to provide statements, not those of their members who probably rarely if ever actually use air travel for business anyway! Whole thing stinks.

But Doncaster has to have it's international hub, which will see billions in external investment flying in from far flung destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Beijing, New York once the major carriers start to fall over themselves to fly into DSA. I mean that's how it works right? Open the airport and the money just flows in.....??

</sarcasm mode -off>

This is the heart of the problem, a group of public servants have convinced themselves that they can replicate the kind of growth seen around Manchester Airport (I take it as read they assume LBA will just keel over once DSA is opened, and that Manchester will be their real competition) in and around Doncaster. They'll have noticed how Manchester grew as a result of having a successful airport, and assume that you just copy & paste the solution into the south east corner of South Yorkshire and sit back. They'll ignore the fact that Manchester had / has quite a few other things going for it such as being connected to much of the North of England by road and rail, a large retail centre & out of town centre, various music venues, two very popular and successful football teams, an international cricket ground, a university, etc, etc.

So unfortunately, for the council tax paying public of Doncaster at least, CDC are totally tone deaf to the reality, believing their own hype over anything the aviation industry tells them about the viability of even modest operations, let alone anything that will drive the kind of growth seen across the Pennines. They'll pursue this project until the very end, throwing more and more money at it until it fails again. Then they'll blame the aviation industry for not having the "vision". Sadly this is what happens when we have career politicians running the show.

 

But Doncaster has to have it's international hub, which will see billions in external investment flying in from far flung destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Beijing, New York once the major carriers start to fall over themselves to fly into DSA. I mean that's how it works right? Open the airport and the money just flows in.....??

</sarcasm mode -off>

This is the heart of the problem, a group of public servants have convinced themselves that they can replicate the kind of growth seen around Manchester Airport (I take it as read they assume LBA will just keel over once DSA is opened, and that Manchester will be their real competition) in and around Doncaster. They'll have noticed how Manchester grew as a result of having a successful airport, and assume that you just copy & paste the solution into the south east corner of South Yorkshire and sit back. They'll ignore the fact that Manchester had / has quite a few other things going for it such as being connected to much of the North of England by road and rail, a large retail centre & out of town centre, various music venues, two very popular and successful football teams, an international cricket ground, a university, etc, etc.

So unfortunately, for the council tax paying public of Doncaster at least, CDC are totally tone deaf to the reality, believing their own hype over anything the aviation industry tells them about the viability of even modest operations, let alone anything that will drive the kind of growth seen across the Pennines. They'll pursue this project until the very end, throwing more and more money at it until it fails again. Then they'll blame the aviation industry for not having the "vision". Sadly this is what happens when we have career politicians running the show.

Delusions of grandeur is the appropriate phrase. Even the CDC motto 'Doncaster is Great' is somewhat ridiculous. It's actually well down the UKs list of cities. You cannot blame them for wanting to climb the league table, but blowing the budget on an airport that will never succeed isn't how to do it.

Reutilising the airport land to attract suitable new industries providing extensive employment opportunities and a variety of skill levels enabling jobs for all would have been far more effective. The obsession with DSA has led the politicians to completely miss a golden opportunity.

 

Delusions of grandeur is the appropriate phrase. Even the CDC motto 'Doncaster is Great' is somewhat ridiculous. It's actually well down the UKs list of cities. You cannot blame them for wanting to climb the league table, but blowing the budget on an airport that will never succeed isn't how to do it.

Reutilising the airport land to attract suitable new industries providing extensive employment opportunities and a variety of skill levels enabling jobs for all would have been far more effective. The obsession with DSA has led the politicians to completely miss a golden opportunity.

what’s your source of Doncaster is great? I thought the CDC motto was Remain Steadfast or Be Steadfast?

 

But Doncaster has to have it's international hub, which will see billions in external investment flying in from far flung destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Beijing, New York once the major carriers start to fall over themselves to fly into DSA. I mean that's how it works right? Open the airport and the money just flows in.....??

</sarcasm mode -off>

This is the heart of the problem, a group of public servants have convinced themselves that they can replicate the kind of growth seen around Manchester Airport (I take it as read they assume LBA will just keel over once DSA is opened, and that Manchester will be their real competition) in and around Doncaster. They'll have noticed how Manchester grew as a result of having a successful airport, and assume that you just copy & paste the solution into the south east corner of South Yorkshire and sit back. They'll ignore the fact that Manchester had / has quite a few other things going for it such as being connected to much of the North of England by road and rail, a large retail centre & out of town centre, various music venues, two very popular and successful football teams, an international cricket ground, a university, etc, etc.

So unfortunately, for the council tax paying public of Doncaster at least, CDC are totally tone deaf to the reality, believing their own hype over anything the aviation industry tells them about the viability of even modest operations, let alone anything that will drive the kind of growth seen across the Pennines. They'll pursue this project until the very end, throwing more and more money at it until it fails again. Then they'll blame the aviation industry for not having the "vision". Sadly this is what happens when we have career politicians running the show.

It’s like Springfields Monorail. I’m now convinced that Coppard is throwing everything at it, including another FBC, to ensure he can confidently give it the green light in September even though he knows it’s never actually going to work out well. Find it hard to believe they will be able to come up with a solution to get around the legal challenges that are highly likely to result from a positive decision unless they have secured some private investment in the background to bankroll subsidies etc.

 

what’s your source of Doncaster is great? I thought the CDC motto was Remain Steadfast or Be Steadfast?

I've seen it numerous times on line. I cant be specific as to where but its definitely out there.

Update. Googled it and it appears to be an online campaign via FB and X rather than the official city motto. They're also echoing Trump by using 'Make Doncaster Great Again'.

Mayor Jones will be wearing a red baseball cap next!

 

Perhaps they could create their own merchandise, it’ll help pay back public funds lol