Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Mayor Ros Jones claims 'improved' offer to save site

The Mayor of Doncaster claims a "significantly improved" offer has been made to save Doncaster Sheffield Airport from closure.

The final scheduled flight is due to land at the airport on Friday night after owners Peel Group started winding down operations this week.

But Mayor Ros Jones called on the company to consider the latest offer. She said: "Today, as we see the last flights land at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, I understand that a significantly improved offer has been made to owners Peel from an international conglomerate after the first substantial offer was astonishingly turned down. 

"I urge Peel to take this enhanced offer seriously and enter into a suitable process of due diligence which is a normal part of business dealings. I understand the monetary figures involved are well above the market value and present a very attractive investment offer. So why don’t Peel enter into serious negotiations with the prospective buyer?"

She suggested Peel was holding on to the land in the hope its value increases, while jobs and economic benefits to the region are lost.

Ms Jones said the council had secured a legal agreement from Peel not to formally close the airport before the end of November and was pursuing a claim for a judicial review of the decision.

Peel announced in September that the airport would close after a strategic review concluded the business had no future.

The company has repeatedly rejected offers of public money to keep the airport running until next year to allow time for a buyer to be found, saying it would only "postpone the inevitable".

The final flights left the airport last weekend, including Tui's last service to Tenerife.

The last inbound flight, from Hurgada in Egypt, is due to land at 9.15pm.

The closure of the airport affects around 800 jobs directly, with hundreds more in the supply chain.

The GMB union said on Friday that Peel had confirmed it was in negotiations with investors are ongoing.

It comes after the company said on Wednesday that it was "currently not in possession of what could be considered a credible offer" and had "no evidence as to the source or credibility of the interested party's funding".

Sarah Barnes, GMB organiser, said: "Despite what the Peel Group said earlier in the week, the sale of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is still very much live.

"This is an extremely upsetting and unsettling time for all involved and misleading statements about potential investment don’t help anyone.

"GMB urges The Peel Group to think of the people and the community will f South Yorkshire and fully commit to this deal."

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