..And my point is, just how vital to the local economy is an airport that provides services only to the bucket and spade market and some ancillary/adhoc freight flights? There’s nothing wrong with bucket and spade, it’s the bread and butter for most airports, but when global connectivity is lacking it becomes quite difficult to justify on a regional GVA level, particularly when the airport was losing up to £10-20 for every passenger that used it as that’s an excessive burden for any Council, let alone one the size of DMBC. So how can the council secure a clear mandate to outlay the £hundreds of millions required in the hope that they may then sell on to a private sector investor who themselves may then want to use the land for something else down the line? Let’s not forget that SYMCA were offered an equity share in the airport in exchange for £20million, but rescinded when Peel were unable to provide a roadmap to profitability*. DMBC are not cash rich enough to complete this and therefore a CPO will not work. The sites future as an airport relies solely on the private sector at this stage. The minutes from the Doncaster Airport Consultative Committee paint a bleak picture, I’m not entirely sure what you think DMBC, SYMCA, UAE Investment companies or whoever else ends up owning the site if Peel sell are going to do any differently? The rumours that Peel purposefully ran the place into the ground have been put to bed now.
*SYMCA/OC were a bit conservative with the truth, there was a loan request from Peel for £20million, but there was also an equity share offered by Peel in exchange for this sum. Peel did open their books and were unable to provide assurance that the airport finances could be turned around which is why SYMCA walked away.
I think they did some research which found it worth lots of millions to South Yorkshire authority areas. Am I a bit cynical about those calculations? err yes. But that's how they will justify something that may make a loss. And to succeed it will need support from more than just Doncaster.