Plans for new Doncaster Robin Hood Airport link road from M18

The airport is located close to the M18 motorway, but currently has no direct link road. In April 2011 funding (from the Regional Growth Fund) was announced for a direct motorway road link from Junction 3 of the M18 to the airport, construction may start in 2012.  Map showing location of airport and of M18  link

Plans for new Robin Hood Airport link road

Plans for a new link road to Robin Hood Airport in South Yorkshire are to be unveiled at three public meetings.

The road, including a route to Rossington and a bridge over the East Coast Main Line, will run for 2.5 miles (4km) from junction 3 of the M18 to the A638 near the airport.

Steve Gill, director of the airport, said the road was a “vital component” in its development.

Doncaster Council received £18m funding from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mr Gill added that the airport was “fantastically placed” and the road would improve access for passengers and cargo.

He said the new link would cut 20 minutes off the journey time from Sheffield city centre.

New houses

Subject to planning permission being granted, work on the road could start in summer 2012 with it opening in early 2014.

The Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme is part of the Gateway to the Sheffield City Region project.

The project will include new houses in Rossington and a freight interchange.

The council has previously said 25,000 private sector jobs could be created by 2030 as a result of the project.

The jobs would include those in air freight, warehousing, house building and civil engineering.

The meetings about the link road are at Holmescarr Community Enterprise Centre and Cantley Library later, and on Saturday at Asda (Bawtry Road).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-16868184

Comment from Friends of the Earth

FoE  had been fighting this airport expansion for the last decade. For the second half of that period that’s involved campaigning against proposals for a link road from the motorway, and we appeared to have lost out when the government’s secretive Regional Growth Fund panel awarded a grant of £18 million for the project.

We did know that sum was never going to be enough for the full scheme which had previously been costed at round about £80-100m.  But all the details of the proposal were hidden, hence a still outstanding FoI appeal to get hold of it.

However Doncaster had just started consultation for an imminent planning application and their consultation document is at: www.doncaster.gov.uk/Images/FARRRS%20leaflet%20web%20version_tcm2-83357.pdf

But the airport seems to have lost, in terms of getting what it wanted. The new link road doesn’t go to the airport; instead there’s less than 1 mile of new dual carriageway from the M18, followed by a single carriageway extension of about another 2 miles, but then they’re back on the existing road network for the last 3+ miles. Clearly the airport will gain some advantage by this but not excessively.

Doncaster airport is not doing well.   The December CAA figures show they continue to run at just 0.8mppa – so the business plan presented to the public inquiry (up to 2.2mppa by 2015) has failed – they haven’t got their link road, and Peel have sold their majority holding.

So maybe there’s a congratulatory telegram to be sent to Caroline Flint the local MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change no less, – who, whilst claiming to be an environmentalist herself attacked FoE for opposing the airport’s opening -and called one campaigner a BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) – on how FoE have helped keep her honest despite her previous state of muddle. 

See earlier

Doncaster’s dreams come true

5.5.2011 ( Doncaster Airport website)

An important link road between Doncaster Robin Hood Airport and the M18 motorway could enter the construction phase in summer 2012, according to local newspaper, the Star. The road, better known as the Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme, or FARRRS, is part of a larger campaign called the Gateway to Sheffield City Region (GSCR), which was recently awarded £18m from the government’s Regional Growth Fund.

“This is tremendous news for Doncaster”, explained Peter Dale, director of regeneration in Doncaster. “(The cash boost) demonstrates the confidence the government has in Doncaster to deliver such an important scheme.”

However, the evidence suggests otherwise: last April, Doncaster Council was described as “failing, dysfunctional, and paralysed” by the Audit Commission, and was eventually commandeered by government ministers. The £18m sum, which is double the grant traditionally awarded to successful candidates, is likely an attempt to bring Doncaster Council, and consequently, the town, back up to par with other settlements in Yorkshire.

Financial support for the FARRRS route way is, nevertheless, a huge boon for Doncaster, and for Robin Hood Airport. Proponents say that the road could create 14,000 jobs, more than half of the total expected to be created by the GSCR scheme, and inject £1bn into the local economy. FARRRS will also make the airport more accessible to travellers arriving from Sheffield and the port town of Goole.

Nigel Brewster, President of Doncaster’s Chambers of Commerce, has urged local businesses to “capitalise” on the construction of the FARRRS road, by trading with companies overseas. Mr. Brewster has implied that the arrival of new investors and – presumably – airlines would be crucial to the success of Robin Hood Airport.

The region around the airport will not be the only area in Yorkshire to benefit from the GSCR. The £18m grant will allow councillors to reclaim the land around Rossington Colliery, which closed in 2007, and construct a ‘Strategic Rail Freight Interchange’ near the airport.

Keepmoat Homes, namesake of Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium, has also been given £8m from the Regional Growth Fund to build, or refurbish, 1,500 homes in Hull.

http://www.doncaster-sheffield-airport-guide.co.uk/blog/2011/05/doncasters-dreams-come-true/

In 2007 over one million passengers used the airport, however this had decreased to around 875,000 by 2010.^[2]

	Number of Passengers[11]	Number of Movements[12]	Passengers Change YoY
2005	600,907	6,914	–
2006	948,017	10,642	57.8%
2007	1,078,374	12,667	13.8%
2008	968,481	13,066	10.2%
2009	835,768	10,584	13.7%
2010	876,153	11,030	4.8%
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[13]