Two Nottinghamshire MPs say the owners of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) are choosing to "damage the economy" by closing the hub. The Peel Group announced earlier in the week that flights would start "winding down" at DSA from October 31 due to a "lack of adequate forward revenues and high operating costs."
But a letter signed by 18 MPs, two of them from Nottinghamshire, has now been sent to the chairman of the Peel Group asking him to reverse the DSA closure. The letter quotes analysis commissioned by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council which says the closure will mean the loss of 2,700 jobs and the loss of £100m to the local economy.
The letter has been signed by Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith and Sherwood MP Mark Spencer. It says: "With assistance and support from the Government and financial support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA)... you were placed in a position where you did not need to close the airport.
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"We were therefore extremely surprised and disappointed to learn that your company has declined this offer and fail to understand why. This covers your losses for the next 13 months, saves jobs through a 'cost of living' crisis, gives you a better business relationship with the local authority and restores your reputation.
"Instead you choose to make a decision which means the loss of 2,700 jobs and a total loss of £100m to the local economy. Preferring instead to make people redundant, damage the economy and close the airport down.
"That makes no sense and does not show any degree of corporate responsibility. If you do not wish to run this regional international airport (which is strategically important to the nation) then you should allow other buyers to be found who do."
Steven Underwood, chief executive of the Peel Group, previously said when announcing the closure: "We recognise that we are living in uncertain times, and we understand that our announcement will be difficult to hear for the Doncaster and wider South Yorkshire communities in which we have worked and invested for over two decades. However, as has been seen many times before in industries undergoing structural change, although change brings uncertainty it can also bring significant opportunity.
"We will not accept any public sector grant to cover the costs of an airport that is not viable due to its lack of adequate forward revenues and high operating costs. Accepting funds from SYMCA may postpone the inevitable for another thirteen months, but it will divert funds away from services on which communities throughout South Yorkshire rely.
“Instead, we intend to continue working closely with local and national stakeholders to develop a forward-thinking strategy for the airport site... to help unlock vibrant, job-creating alternatives to ensure future growth and prosperity. We have the potential to attract cutting-edge, future-tech businesses to South Yorkshire, but only if we are able to collaborate with our local stakeholders and community in South Yorkshire."
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