Prime Minister visits Doncaster Sheffield Airport as reopening bid gets £30m boost
The prime minister has thrown his backing behind plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport - by freeing up extra funding
The prime minister has thrown his backing behind plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, supporting £30million of devolved funds being ‘freed up’ for the project.
It is a huge investment from the government which current mayor Ros Jones states will save the City of Doncaster Council £56m when taking interest into account.
Speaking to reporters at the airport site today (April 10), Sir Keir Starmer said: “So many businesses are already backing what we are doing and they want to show their support.
“I’m absolutely convinced that this was a lost opportunity. It should never have been closed and therefore I’m really pleased we’re making this announcement today. It’s a really important announcement.”
The prime minister told people who had gathered at 2Excel in Finningley that he knows Doncaster well, due to his mother-in-law growing up close to the racecourse, visiting the racecourse with his family on previous occasions
He said: “I don’t think I’ve ever been in Doncaster without someone telling me ‘you need to do something about the airport’ because it symbolises locally well-paid jobs, a local economy that’s thriving, but also pride of place.”
Starmer told people in attendance at his visit the £30m investment and the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport would create 5,000 “good, well-paying jobs in the region”.
He was introduced by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who said it was great to be in Doncaster.
She said: “Being here today reminds us what’s possible with Labour in power. A Labour government working with a Labour council and Labour mayor.
“The Tories stood by and watched as Doncaster Airport closed its doors… Doncaster Airport is just one of the countless projects in the graveyard of broken Tory promises.
“We stand here today to show, by contrast, what a Labour government can achieve… We have unlocked the potential of this region.”
Reopening the airport will reportedly boost the region’s economy by £5billion by 2050.
The government confirmed it has established a working group with Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to support local efforts to reopen the airport and explore how the project could unlock wider benefits in the region.
The first meeting, bringing together South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, Aviation Minister Mike Kane, Doncaster Council and the government, took place yesterday (Wednesday, April 9).
Ros Jones, who joined the PM and deputy PM at the site with Mayor Coppard, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the government investment is the “catalyst for growing our airport”.
She said: “This is the money we know we need to get it all open and running. It’s not the full amount, but it gets us going.
“I believe that if we want to grow Doncaster and South Yorkshire, you need to back me to deliver for the people, for the businesses, of Doncaster.”
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