A major step forward for Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening but obstacles ahead in high stakes gamble

The Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, deserves credit for getting this far and for exercising diligence throughout the process. By not rushing in, he has afforded the project time and space to get off the ground.

It also gives not only the public confidence but also any future partners with the airport confidence that political leaders are taking a rational approach to the project. But local leaders will not be able to do this on their own. The Government’s pledge to back the airport has been key to getting this far.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the decision to reopen DSA saying she “will do whatever is needed to meet that goal”.

That is likely to be tested when further financial support is likely required.

If the Government gets behind the airport and it is a success then that will be a damning indictment of the Tories and their so-called ‘levelling up’ agenda.

DSA has stood as a monument of the previous government’s failure to deliver for the North. Offering warm words, scraps of funding here and there but little action.

However, the project must succeed and there are major obstacles for the airport ahead. The fact that the reopening is going ahead against a backdrop of strained public services is a risk in itself.

But the prize could be huge for the region. If, and it is a big ‘if’, the reopening is successful then the economic benefit could be transformational for South Yorkshire. It could also change the narrative on infrastructure investment in the North.

This decision is just the beginning. A lot of public money is now on the line, as are several political careers.