Email shows mayor urges minister not to block £30million to be used to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Mark Chadwick from a campaign group, emails between the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard and the Secretary of State for Transport Secretary Mark Harper have come to light.

In an email sent on December 16, Mr Coppard asked Mr Harper to “reconsider” his decision to refuse flexibility about the reallocation of £30m of the so-called City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements funding so the Doncaster Sheffield Airport could reopen. Operations were wound down over the high costs of running the airport, the Peel Group said.

Mr Coppard said: “You will be aware that in the first round of CRSTS funding, we sought to allocate £30million for the development of the Gateway East Rail project. That scheme was intended to support our ambitions to unlock the potential of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the Gateway East development site. Your department agreed to that request in principle while retaining control of that project.

“While Doncaster Council and my own South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority are working at pace to reopen DSA following its closure by Peel Group, the £30million allocated to Gateway East Rail project is unlikely to be spent in the current funding window.

“That is why we have engaged with your officials in a conversation about reallocating that £30million to support the capital costs associated with bringing back aviation operations at our airport.

“You have previously turned down those requests for greater flexibility to be applied to that money, meaning the funding is now at risk of being unspent within CRSTS timescales.

“I am therefore writing to formally ask you to reconsider that decision.”

Mr Coppard also told Mr Harper that he would be a partner in having a conversation about delivering rail connections to the airport at a “later date”.

He also brought up former prime minister Liz Truss’ pledge to do everything she could to “help save DSA”.

Mr Coppard said: “I’m sorry but that promise came to nothing. Offering us access to that CRSTS funding now would go some way to making good on that commitment.”

Mr Coppard ended his letter by saying: “I know you have been unwilling to make that commitment in the past but – on behalf of the people of Doncaster and South Yorkshire, and all those people across the north hoping to see DSA reopend – I would be grateful to reconsider that decision.”

Following the story’s publication, a DfT spokesperson reached out to tell the Local Democracy Reporting Service that “it’s not right to say that the Minister blocked a bid as no formal request or submission was received from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.”

The spokesperson said: “South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority have not submitted a formal request or business case to use CRSTS funding for the airport, and therefore ministers have not reviewed any such request.

“The letter received from the mayor does not amount to a formal submission, but we will respond to it in due course.”