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 think it is poor reporting , did not see much in YP when all the councilllors in leeds where against LBA expansion?
and it was more than one

The councillors were not against the expansion at Leeds and voted in favour of the new Terminal at the eastern end of the airport perimeter. It was the government that called in the application after a protest by a few Nimby's who objected to the plans. The government then sat on the application for over a year, under two different government ministers, resulting the LBA management losing patience and resorting to an old planning application which had been passed to extend to existing terminal. The airport still got its terminal, not the one it wanted, but one that allows for expansion but not an environmentally green terminal as was envisaged.

 

Hardly, they are duty bound as journalists to report on all aspects of the story to ensure the public are as informed as they can be. It’s why you see the usual suspects commenting on all these stories, because it undermines the case for it to go ahead. As the proposal is to fund this with tax payers money it’s more of a public interest story than an LBA development, although I think you’re wrong on that anyway, they seem to favour those who must not be named if you read the LBA thread.


I meant what was this in relation to?

He forgot Munich had anything to do with it and thought Dublin had something to do with he's that clued up someone in his group had to corrct him.

 

i think it is poor reporting , did not see much in YP when all the councilllors in leeds where against LBA expansion?
and it was more than one

You can't have been looking much. The YP were very unsupportive towards LBA when it was seeking approval to build the terminal, and so was the YEP too. Conversely, the YP have in the past been very supportive of DSA. If they are now pushing issues to do with the reopening, its because they, like most on here, can see that it promises to be a huge waste of money and its not gone un-noticed how little information is being given publicly to justify the project or explain the business case.

 

The councillors were not against the expansion at Leeds and voted in favour of the new Terminal at the eastern end of the airport perimeter. It was the government that called in the application after a protest by a few Nimby's who objected to the plans. The government then sat on the application for over a year, under two different government ministers, resulting the LBA management losing patience and resorting to an old planning application which had been passed to extend to existing terminal. The airport still got its terminal, not the one it wanted, but one that allows for expansion but not an environmentally green terminal as was envisaged.

Greens demand taxpayer millions should not go to airport expansion

As much as £100m of public cash could be spent on the expansion plans

www.leeds-live.co.uk

these were not against it!

Greens demand taxpayer millions should not go to airport expansion

As much as £100m of public cash could be spent on the expansion plans

www.leeds-live.co.uk

these were not against it!

Greens demand taxpayer millions should not go to airport expansion

As much as £100m of public cash could be spent on the expansion plans

www.leeds-live.co.uk

 

Greens demand taxpayer millions should not go to airport expansion

As much as £100m of public cash could be spent on the expansion plans

www.leeds-live.co.uk

these were not against it!

Greens demand taxpayer millions should not go to airport expansion

As much as £100m of public cash could be spent on the expansion plans

www.leeds-live.co.uk

This is total nonsense but relates to funding for public transport to LBA and is nothing to do with the airport itself, nor the new terminal, which is/was entirely privately funded. Unlike DSA.

The Greens are a pathetic bunch. One minute bleating on about everyone going via public transport but then objecting to public transport being improved to the airport because it will lead to growth. So OK, everyone will continue to go by car! Prized idiots. It's scary to think these people are in positions whereby they can determine the future of this country.

All that said, I've no real idea what your point is, as these were not Leeds Councillors and nothing to do with Leeds Plans Panel. Nor do I know why you've posted the same article 3 times.

 

it was a mistake posting 3 sorry, but there were loads of councillers in west yorkshire against LBA fullstop.
i was answering dmrodgers

 

it was a mistake posting 3 sorry, but there were loads of councillers in west yorkshire against LBA fullstop.
i was answering dmrodgers

We seem to have completely digressed from the original discussion which was about a CDG councillor suggesting that other nearby areas should contribute part of their gainshare to opening DSA. The post with the £100m investment in transport links to LBA (for what 'transport'?) should really be on the LBA page as it is irrelevant to this page??

 

it was a mistake posting 3 sorry, but there were loads of councillers in west yorkshire against LBA fullstop.
i was answering dmrodgers

Nothing to do with councillors in West Yorkshire, the airport is entirely within the Leeds boundary and the application was passed by Leeds City Council.

 

positive

Doncaster Sheffield Airport operator confident about viability

German company says airport can be profitable despite being a small 'start-up' base for airlines.

www.bbc.co.uk

and expect some news about rail link soon

 

positive

Doncaster Sheffield Airport operator confident about viability

German company says airport can be profitable despite being a small 'start-up' base for airlines.

www.bbc.co.uk

and expect some news about rail link soon

Frankly, it's impossible to see them saying anything else. If they came out and said the airport would be a perennial loss maker they would be talking themselves out of a job. They are bound to talk the talk. Whether or not they can walk the walk is another matter entirely.

 

Frankly, it's impossible to see them saying anything else. If they came out and said the airport would be a perennial loss maker they would be talking themselves out of a job. They are bound to talk the talk. Whether or not they can walk the walk is another matter entirely.

Well part of their agreement will be stakeholder engagement. Easy to say when it’s someone else’s money, again not sure how LBA and others will see it.

I also recall the major airline support from 2003/4 and look what happened there.

As for a rail station…

 

Well part of their agreement will be stakeholder engagement. Easy to say when it’s someone else’s money, again not sure how LBA and others will see it.

I also recall the major airline support from 2003/4 and look what happened there.

As for a rail station…

Nobody will waste millions on a rail station for an airport that may not happen, or which may be a huge failure if it does open.

Oh, wait. This is Doncaster , capital city of the North.

 

Nobody will waste millions on a rail station fir an airport that nay not happen, or which may be a huge failure if it does open.

Oh, wait. This is Doncaster , capital city of the North.

I don’t have time to commit to a proper response at the moment other than to say let’s hear what the plans for the railway are. If they’re resurrecting the one that was thrown out due viability and value for money issues then I can’t see how it would be any different this time.

As for MAI, of course they are going to say that like you say. But they seem to be setting their stall out now and managing expectations. Unless they’ve managed to secure some private investment then there is absolutely no hope of being able to open and operate on just £145m. It’s inconceivable. They also have no experience of the U.K. market and will come to be surprised at just how challenging it is to gain traction. This ‘grain of trust’ statement is interesting, just a grain? Shame VAS didn’t manage with their ‘grain of trust’ to actually achieve anything during their tenure. It’s not their money, they want to be paid though.

I expect legal challenges in the first instance.

Jet2 shares plummet as boss warns of pressure on margins

The boss of Jet2 has warned the holiday group's profit margins could come 'under some pressure' this year, amid higher costs and fragile consumer strength.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

positive

Doncaster Sheffield Airport operator confident about viability

German company says airport can be profitable despite being a small 'start-up' base for airlines.

www.bbc.co.uk

and expect some news about rail link soon

A rail link? On which line? The Gainsborough line to the north of the site which sees a handful of passenger services a day? Or the mythical East Coast Main spur?

If the former, then a new station on the old site close to the A614 level crossing at Finningley would add a few million to the cost, and even then would require more than the around 5 services a day in each direction that currently pass. Plus there would need to be a car park built, along with all the usual consultations that would be needed. Located anywhere else would likely add even more cost again. And wherever it would end up, it would be a mile or more away from the terminal building, so some form of transit would be needed. Given the projected numbers from CDC, and the likely use of a station a mile away to access it, this is not going to offer good return on it's investment. So this is highly, highly unlikely.

If we are talking about the ECML, forget it. That would easily run into tens and even hundreds of millions. Not only to build several miles of new track alignments, but to also build fly-overs / dive-unders to take the spur away from the main line to prevent DSA services slowing down those on the main. Then you would need to divert fast services away to serve the new station, adding precious time to a major route. This is total La La Land territory, and is never going to happen.

 

I don’t have time to commit to a proper response at the moment other than to say let’s hear what the plans for the railway are. If they’re resurrecting the one that was thrown out due viability and value for money issues then I can’t see how it would be any different this time.

As for MAI, of course they are going to say that like you say. But they seem to be setting their stall out now and managing expectations. Unless they’ve managed to secure some private investment then there is absolutely no hope of being able to open and operate on just £145m. It’s inconceivable. They also have no experience of the U.K. market and will come to be surprised at just how challenging it is to gain traction. This ‘grain of trust’ statement is interesting, just a grain? Shame VAS didn’t manage with their ‘grain of trust’ to actually achieve anything during their tenure. It’s not their money, they want to be paid though.

I expect legal challenges in the first instance.

Having listened to him a couple of times the guy came over as fairly realistic to my mind and I agree that the way he spoke was to instil the principles of realism and patience. A more sensible rhetoric than we have heard before? It's going to be a long journey said he!! Longer the better I suppose for his coffers

positive

Doncaster Sheffield Airport operator confident about viability

German company says airport can be profitable despite being a small 'start-up' base for airlines.

www.bbc.co.uk

and expect some news about rail link soon

I think it depends upon the type of traffic that DSA expect to attract. If it's 'holiday traffic' then a station (forget ECML) is not going to attract much passenger traffic from outside the area as folk want to fly from their local airport as evidenced by the majority of posts on the campaign sites. If it's on the Lincoln line which would seem the most likely location- maybe a few from Lincolnshire that might had gone to EMA (which already has a Parkway Station). If there are services provided that are not available from nearby airports then maybe a station might get a bit more use. With the Councils forecast pax of 2m (increased somehow to 2.5m for the airspace request!!) in 10 years it seems unlikely anyone would want to fund that for such a modest throughput bearing in mind most would drive anyway - but who knows.

 

Having listened to him a couple of times the guy came over as fairly realistic to my mind and I agree that the way he spoke was to instil the principles of realism and patience. A more sensible rhetoric than we have heard before? It's going to be a long journey said he!! Longer the better I suppose for his coffers


I think it depends upon the type of traffic that DSA expect to attract. If it's 'holiday traffic' then a station (forget ECML) is not going to attract much passenger traffic from outside the area as folk want to fly from their local airport as evidenced by the majority of posts on the campaign sites. If it's on the Lincoln line which would seem the most likely location- maybe a few from Lincolnshire that might had gone to EMA (which already has a Parkway Station). If there are services provided that are not available from nearby airports then maybe a station might get a bit more use. With the Councils forecast pax of 2m (increased somehow to 2.5m for the airspace request!!) in 10 years it seems unlikely anyone would want to fund that for such a modest throughput bearing in mind most would drive anyway - but who knows.

Takes 10mppa minimum before a dedicated rail service is viable. The argument for ECML was to create a new town, this is what they’re attempting by calling it SYA city. Can’t fault their ambition, but it’s head in the clouds type stuff in reality. If they got all passenger services between Luton and Newcastle on the eastern side of the country things might be different, but there are far too many competitors for this to even be a consideration. It’s clearly what they’re aiming for though.

And you’re correct, they’re on the payroll of the council. They’ll get paid no matter what. Part of their job will be to promote the airport which is exactly what they’re trying to do here, but it’s not a check on visibility.

Reasonable write up by YP.

Will Rachel Reeves step in as Doncaster Sheffield Airport plans face turbulence?

It is only three weeks since Rachel Reeves gave the Government’s blessing for local efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport while taking a potshot at the Tories for failing to prevent its closure back in 2022.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

 

The £30m for the Airport Station is money allocated from Government to SYMCA which in turn pays Network Rail & Partners to build and operate the station. If station isn't built, then this ring fenced money goes back to the government to be used in other projects. So this £30m pot of money can only be used for a railway station project.

The railway station is a transport project and nothing to do with the airport. So wouldn't come from Airport funds. It just so happens that having the airport open would create better business case.

I don't think the station would be built in Finningley village, as would be wrong side of airport for terminal, thus be useless in attracting airport passengers.

So that only leaves two locations a station could go, Great House Lane & Hurst Lane. Hurst Lane having a better business case of the two locations.

Great House Lane being a 1.1 mile walk.
Hurst Lane being a 1.5 mile walk.

The ideal location for a station would be on the Lincoln line at Great House Lane level crossing as this would mean no requirement for a footbridge to be built, thus reducing build and maintenance costs.

But it would find more valuable use at Hurst Lane, but would require installation of ramps and bridge. As this spot would be ideal for serving The Hive Shopping Park and the Yorkshire Wildlife Park attraction, whilst also serving the villages Auckley, Blaxton, Branton, Finningley & Hayfield Green plus any industrial/ commercial developments that get built all within easy reach of this station.

Also if set up right could act as a Park & Ride facility into Doncaster, so this could incorporate traffic from Rossington & New Rossington, Haworth and Bawtry. So even without the airport it will have a good source of passenger to use the station and if the airport reopens then another source of passengers.

 

@Stagman i fail to see how a parkway, park and ride or indeed airport railway station would in any way be viable. Why would people want to park and ride into Donny with such a poor frequency of trains? They’re best off going to existing pnr facilities. As for the trade from Lincoln or Gainsborough to the airport…?? Just not viable. They’d be better off giving me £30 million, I would promise to only spend about £300k to pay off my mortgage and upgrade slightly, the rest I would give to charity.. That’s a promise Rachel.

 

@Stagman i fail to see how a parkway, park and ride or indeed airport railway station would in any way be viable. Why would people want to park and ride into Donny with such a poor frequency of trains? They’re best off going to existing pnr facilities. As for the trade from Lincoln or Gainsborough to the airport…?? Just not viable. They’d be better off giving me £30 million, I would promise to only spend about £300k to pay off my mortgage and upgrade slightly, the rest I would give to charity.. That’s a promise Rachel.

You are missing the point of what I am making. Put the station at Hurst Lane and it has a business case in itself without the airport being open. I would say with an hourly service in each direction you talking about at least 75k passengers a year easily using the station, that is before taking the airport into consideration.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park visitor numbers:
2023 - 921,008
2022 - 932,444

So add that the attraction's entrance gate which is pretty much next to the station at Hurst Lane then you could easily add another 100k in passengers. So without an airport, a station could generate 150-200k passengers a year. So it has a business case already. Add the airport in as well, for instance the airport had one million passengers a year and having a railway station close by, you could increase passengers using the station to somewhere between 350-500k passenger journey's a year.

So the airport boosts the business case for the railway station even more.

Take for instance Hexham is a market town between Newcastle & Carlisle with a population of about 12k, it generated 394,724 passenger journey's during the 2023-24 financial year.

Take a new station built at Horden in the colliery villages just north of Hartlepool.
Population of the villages surrounding Horden station.
Horden (includes Blackhall & Blackhall Rocks) 7,200
Peterlee 20,300
Easington 5,000

Opened 29th June 2020. Council predictions were only expecting about 70k passengers a year to use it.
2020-21 - 33,038
2021-22 - 96,858
2022-23 - 99,564
2023-24 - 136,780


Populations surrounding a Hurst Lane station
Auckley Parish (Auckley & Hayfield Green) - 5,000
Blaxton - 1,200
Branton & Cantley - 1,200
Finningley 5,300
Rossington & Bawtry 14,000

Then you have an attraction with just under one million visitors right next door.

So I would say that a station at Hurst Lane is easily capable of generating 150k passengers a year. If airport reopened 350-500k passengers a year at the station.

East Midlands Airport is 6 miles from East Midlands Parkway station.
East Midlands Parkway saw 326,786 passenger journeys in 2023-24.

So my estimates for a Hurst Lane station are pretty realistic expectations given my vast of knowledge and experience in the transport industry.

 

5 airlines in conversation to get into DSA it seems..

Wouldn't read too much into this but ironic since nobody knows when/if it will ever open.

2. I don't think DSA has ever had 5 airlines operating from it at the same time

3. It's most likely a conversation with airlines saying they will/might look at it.. hardly promising.