VIDEO: Doncaster Sheffield Airport link 'most important mile of road built locally in decades'

The Great Yorkshire Way link from the motorway network to Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) might be the most important mile of road built locally in decades - supercharging the region's economic growth, says Dan Jarvis.
Great Yorkshire Way is officailly opened by, left to right, Lee Tinkler, Operations Director North, Tarmac; Dan Fell, Chief Executive Officer, Doncaster Chamber; Rob Coldrake, Northern Region Finance Director, TUI UK & Ireland; Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster; Robert Hough, Chairman, Peel Airports Group; Caroline Flint MP for Don Valley; Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region and Nigel Morley, of Mott MacDonaldGreat Yorkshire Way is officailly opened by, left to right, Lee Tinkler, Operations Director North, Tarmac; Dan Fell, Chief Executive Officer, Doncaster Chamber; Rob Coldrake, Northern Region Finance Director, TUI UK & Ireland; Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster; Robert Hough, Chairman, Peel Airports Group; Caroline Flint MP for Don Valley; Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region and Nigel Morley, of Mott MacDonald
Great Yorkshire Way is officailly opened by, left to right, Lee Tinkler, Operations Director North, Tarmac; Dan Fell, Chief Executive Officer, Doncaster Chamber; Rob Coldrake, Northern Region Finance Director, TUI UK & Ireland; Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster; Robert Hough, Chairman, Peel Airports Group; Caroline Flint MP for Don Valley; Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region and Nigel Morley, of Mott MacDonald

The new Sheffield City Region Mayor and Barnsley MP was amongst dignitaries invited to open the final mile of the road, which now provides a direct connection from junction 3 of the M18 - putting Sheffield jut 25 minutes away.

VIDEO: Watch the official opening ceremony, our video trip down the newly opened link road, all the speeches and chats with leading dignitaries to find out what this means to you - see our Facebook Live stream below, now available to watch back on demand - or CLICK HERE.

The £66.5 million Great Yorkshire Way - including the first phase three mile link which opened in 1986 - is a central part of the Sheffield City Region Growth Plan which aims to stimulate economic growth and create 70,000 jobs over the next 10 years.

Mr Jarvis, who helped to open the completed road, said: "It might prove to be the most important mile of road we’ve built locally in decades.

"With this investment and by connecting the airport to local and national train routes, Doncaster Sheffield Airport could handle 25 million passengers and 250,000 tonnes of cargo each year.

"Our products will once again be known around the world. This will mean supercharging the recent resurgence in well-paid advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs that our future economy will be built upon. That means better pay, more opportunities closer to home and confidence in who we are and what we’re good at. "

Don Valley MP Caroline Flint, one fo DSA's longest supporters and campaigners was also amongst those taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremony. She said: “For me this is the completion of a 21 year project.

"A few years ago, if anyone had said that a four mile stretch of road would make such a different to jobs and travelling to work; no one would have believed you. But this road has brought holiday- makers closer to our airport; residents closer to jobs; and brought jobs to Doncaster’s doorstep. The Great Yorkshire Way is a great asset to our borough.”

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Seeing the opening of this significant stretch of road is a huge boost for Doncaster, and for Yorkshire as a whole. The benefits it will bring to the county are numerous and it was a privilege to be able to showcase it during this year’s Tour de Yorkshire."

The airport sits within a wider 1,600-acre property and logistics development site known as Aero Centre Yorkshire, all owned by Peel Group. It's masterplan includes a new DSA railway station on the site, further increasing its growing capacity.

Delivered by Doncaster Council and backed by the Sheffield City Region, the transformational Great Yorkshire Way road now connects Bawtry Road to Hurst Lane.

Almost 14 million journeys have been made since phase one of the link road opened. It was funded with contributions from Peel Group, Harworth Group, Verdion, Doncaster Council and the Regional Growth Fund. Doncaster Chamber has been a big supporter of the scheme too.

The second phase of Great Yorkshire Way cost £10.55million with £9.1million contributed by the Sheffield City Region and £1.45million from Doncaster Council’s Capital Programme.

It will also provide, from the end of June, additional cycle and pedestrian facilities linking new residential areas and the development area surrounding the airport to existing routes and the town centre.

The completion of the new road came on the same day as a new DSA route to Belfast was launched with Flybe operating five DSA return flights a week to the Northern Ireland capital .

The road also proved a big draw for airlines, with TUI recently announcing a 30 per cent increase in seats from DSA for summer 2019, with six new routes including Yorkshire’s only direct long haul service to Orlando Florida. Other operators using the airport, recently voted the best small airport in the UK by Which? Magazine, include Wizz Air.

The official road opening was also carried out by Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones, Doncaster Chamber CEO Dan Fell, Peel Airports Group chairman Robert Hough, TUI UK and Ireland Northern Region finance director Rob Coldrake, Tarmac North Operations director Lee Tinkler and Nigel Morley from Mott MacDonald.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, said: “The road has not only played a huge role in making the airport so easy and stress free to get to but has also helped to bring new airlines and routes to DSA with our main airlines, Flybe, TUI and Wizz Air, now totalling 55 routes.“It is a good example of how transport infrastructure helps unlock international connectivity, new housing, tourism, commercial development and people’s ability to move around.”

Rob Coldrake, Northern Region Finance Director for TUI UK and Ireland, said: “Our relationship with DSA goes back to day one of the airport, we saw the tremendous opportunity back in 2005 and our ambitious summer 2019 programme is further evidence of this. We’re delighted to be bringing long haul flying to Yorkshire with our Sanford, Florida service and also five new European routes. The opening of the new road will make it even easier for customers from the local area to get to and fly from the airport closest to home. We look forward to welcoming even more customers flying with us from DSA.”

Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, said: “As we had hoped, Great Yorkshire Way is a fantastic success for Doncaster and the wider region.“We always knew its impact would be hugely significant and lead to hundreds of millions of pounds of private sector investment in Doncaster. There are more flights to business and holiday destinations, the old colliery site at Rossington is being reclaimed and people are living in new family homes and finding more job opportunities at the iPort and other developments.“Over 1,400 new jobs and almost 1,000 new homes have been created and this is all due to the collaborative approach we’ve taken to working with our public and private sector partners. With the second phase of the Great Yorkshire Way now complete, stimulating further economic growth and making the borough even more accessible to the people of Yorkshire and beyond, Great Yorkshire Way is one of the region’s most successful regeneration projects, investing in infrastructure in order to grow and transform the economy so that it works for the many not the few.”

Nigel Morley from Mott MacDonald said: “We congratulate Doncaster Council on the completion of this prestigious project for the Sheffield City Region. Mott MacDonald is proud to have played a significant role in the design and management of both phases of Great Yorkshire Way and we are delighted to see the developments at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Rossington iPort prosper as a direct result.”