• Doncaster Sheffield Airport expansion gains support

    Following the launch of its draft Masterplan and subsequent public consultation, Doncaster Sheffield Airport has revealed early results of the consultation which showed overwhelming public support for the plans and a desire to see an East Coast Mainline station at the airport site delivered.  

    Over 90% of respondents expressed strong support for the objectives set out in the Masterplan, including rail connectivity.The airport received 1,600 responses to the open consultation. Other highlights were 97% support for expansion to terminal building services and 96% support for proposals to deliver new employment developments to create up to 13,000 new jobs at the airport.  

    The Masterplan details the future development of the current site of the airport and the projected growth extending out over the next 20 years, forecasting 4.7m passengers per year. The Masterplan when fully realised is expected to deliver £3.7bn to the local economy by 2037, including £900m construction investment and £159m to the region’s tourism economy.

    At the launch of the Masterplan, the airport also published its Vision Plan to realise the airport and its site full potential as the major international gateway for the East side of the UK. With the delivery of an East Coast Mainline connected station at the site as envisaged in the Vision Plan, the passenger number growth could be doubled to 11.8m by 2050, with a station becoming operational as early as 2024.

    The feedback received during the public consultation will ultimately inform the final airport master plan that will be released at the end of 2018.  

    Robert Hough, chairman of Peel Airports Group, said: “We are humbled by the level of engagement we have seen in this public consultation for our draft Masterplan. It is more than a plan for the airport, given the economic prize it is a plan for the economic future of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, which clearly people are keen to take an active role in shaping.”

    Marketing manager – business tourism and trade Marketing Sheffield, Emma France, told CN: “We are delighted that the public consultation has reinforced support for the development plans at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. A significant hub so close to the city of Sheffield would further enhance our drive to grow the international conference market into the city. Connectivity is key and the combination of more routes and a rail link to connect Sheffield city centre is fantastic news for growing our MICE business and investment more generally.” 

    Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, added: “I know that DSA can be as significant on the east of the Pennines as Manchester Airport is on the west. 

    “To help realise DSA’s potential, I’ve already submitted a bid to the government’s Transforming Cities Fund. At the heart of this bid is a Global Innovation Corridor that stretches across the region, linking people to key sites including the airport, Sheffield city centre, the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham and Barnsley’s Digital Campus.

    “And now we need to seize this momentum and also throw our collective weight behind the vision for an East Coast Main Line railway station at the airport.”

    https://www.conference-news.co.uk/news/doncaster-sheffield-airport-expansion-gains-support