“If it can't pay its way by now surely it should be classed as a ‘white elephant’”

I write regarding the A Hall letter recently printed in The Star, which expresses concern that our local South Yorkshire Councils will get tied up in supplying £5 million to Doncaster Sheffield Airport for some building works.

Unfortunately, I fear, this will only be the tip of the public subsidies requested by this privately owned organisation.

The owners want to connect their airport to our railway system with a new station and four-and-a-half miles of track.

The estimated cost of this project is £280m.

As the owners can't afford £5m for building works, there seems little likelihood that they will be funding the railway connection, so won't it be the taxpayer, yet again, who will be asked for the money?

But isn't this history repeating itself?

Haven't we already built this privately owned company a road to their airport, linking the M18 and which was supposed to provide all the benefits of the proposed £280m railway connection?

What has happened to all of the benefits that the taxpayer-funded road was to bring; remembering it cost us more than £66m?

Additionally, it will also be remembered that Sheffield Council allowed them to close Sheffield's own City Airport and rewarded them by handing over 50 acres of prime development land upon which the airport had been built.

How much did the taxpayers of Sheffield get in return for this expensive land?

A miserly £1; No joke; £1.

Surely our local councils and Central Government aren't going to provide yet more public handouts to this privately owned company?

Doncaster's Airport was opened some 15 years ago. If it can't pay its way by now surely it should be classed as a “white elephant”.

Our money would be better spent on local services such as the police, hospitals, roads and other deserving causes and not frittered away on vanity projects.