City of Doncaster Council has submitted planning permission to install approach lights at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The application was submitted to the local planning authority on 16 October.
The move follows confirmation that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority would buy the airport and adjacent land subject to a deal with landowner Peel Group completing. The airport closed in November 2022 and the council has been working to reopen it with public funds after attempts to find a private operator failed.
Lights to use latest technology
If approved, the approach lights would be installed in the same location as they had been before. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the latest technology would be used to ensure the resilience of the infrastructure.
Simon Hinchley, executive director for airport operations at Fly Doncaster Ltd — the arm's-length company set up by the council to run the airport — said: "Reinstalling approach lighting is another important step towards the operational readiness of this airport."
Four decades of operation at the site
Approach lighting has been in place at the location for at least 40 years, previously during its time as RAF Finningley and later to support air movements at Doncaster Sheffield Airport from 2005 to 2022.
Hinchley said: "In the coming months, we will also be carrying out work on the runway lights themselves, to ensure we are in a good position to welcome flights back and manage the airfield in a safe and responsible manner, conforming to all regulatory guidance."
Planning is a separate, quasi-judicial function. Although both the applicant and local planning authority are City of Doncaster Council, the authority's own applications face the same processes as those from third parties.