Sheffield City Airport
Encyclopedia
Sheffield City Airport
located in Sheffield
that is now closed. It was located in the Tinsley Park
area of the city, near the M1 motorway
and Sheffield Parkway
, and opened in 1997. The airport had its CAA licence withdrawn on 21 April 2008 and officially closed on 30 April 2008, as Sheffield City Council
had approved plans to turn the airport into a business park
.
without its own airport although there was a proposal made in 1968 to build an airport on land near Todwick
in Rotherham
but came to nothing. The lack of an airport in Sheffield was (is) due primarily to the fact there is only a limited area of flat land large enough for it. In fact the size of the airport which was eventually built was determined by this geographical factor. It is not coincidental that Sheffield is built on hills because the resultant rivers powered the development of its most famous industries, namely steel making and engineering.
The airport was built, after a consultants report, on a short-runway STOL
PORT model similar to London City Airport
. It offered flights to Belfast
, Amsterdam
, Brussels
, Dublin, Jersey
and London
with the airlines KLMuk, Sabena
, British Airways
and Aer Arann
. The Amsterdam service was described by KLMuk as the best start-up they had ever experienced. It has been argued that it was this choice of the city airport model, coming immediately before the meteoric rise of the low cost airline
in the UK, that condemned the airport from the start: Sheffield arguably did not have enough commerce to support the sort of high-fare short-hop business flights that could use the airport, while aircraft types used by the new low-cost airlines, for which there is much demand in the Sheffield area, could not use the airport due to the length of its runway. It also suffered from the intractable problem of not having enough traffic to justify investing in a radar, while many airlines, it is alleged, were refusing to operate into the airport due to its lack of radar.
In the end the last scheduled airline pulled out in 2002, after the airport had passed into the hands of Peel Airports, who were shortly to be opening the nearby Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
airport. By the time the last scheduled service was flown, the terminal interior had been converted to office accommodation. Fire and rescue cover and air traffic control
staffing levels were both reduced and published procedures for instrument approaches were withdrawn, rendering the airport unattractive to the current generation of airlines which offer low-cost services with turboprop aircraft.
There has been a degree of controversy over whether there was any incentive for Peel to promote the airport. The original lease between the SDC and Tinsley Park Ltd included a reversionary clause permitting the acquisition of 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land for £1 providing, after 10 years of opening, it could be shown that the airport was financially not viable. The development is being marketed at up to £220 per square foot. The estimated worth of a business park, which is now planned, being at least £1,000,000.
The runway, as a part of the 80 acres (323,748.8 m²), has been sold and will be developed into the Blue Skies Business Park. A heliport at the east end of the site will stay open for use by the South Yorkshire Police
helicopter and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
helicopter, both of which are based at Sheffield, but will not be available for use by other aircraft.
and out to the M1
. Following the completion of coal extraction and the reinstatement of the land, the link road was completed through to Tinsley. This allowed work to commence on the business park that was part of the 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of land that the SDC had given to the airport's developers. The road was funded by the EU and was essential to the original plan to reclaim the land. The site is between Tinsley Golf Course, the Sheffield Parkway
, Tinsley Marshalling Yard
s and British Steel
's Tinsley rolling mill. Following the financial problems of Tinsley Park Ltd, Peel Holdings bought into the airport and business park for an unknown sum.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
that is now closed. It was located in the Tinsley Park
Tinsley, South Yorkshire
Tinsley is a suburb of northeastern part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its name derives from the Old English Tingas-Leah, which means 'Field of Council'...
area of the city, near the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
and Sheffield Parkway
Sheffield Parkway
The Sheffield Parkway is a major dual carriageway which runs between the City of Sheffield and junction 33 of the M1 in South Yorkshire, England. The 5.5 mile road was opened in 1974, and runs to the east of the City, connecting Park Square in the City centre with the inner ring road, outer ring...
, and opened in 1997. The airport had its CAA licence withdrawn on 21 April 2008 and officially closed on 30 April 2008, as Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...
had approved plans to turn the airport into a business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
.
History
Before it opened, Sheffield was the largest city in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
without its own airport although there was a proposal made in 1968 to build an airport on land near Todwick
Todwick
Todwick is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,637, and contains a primary school and a nursery, "Todwick Early Years". Todwick also is home to one pub, The Red Lion, and a church...
in Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
but came to nothing. The lack of an airport in Sheffield was (is) due primarily to the fact there is only a limited area of flat land large enough for it. In fact the size of the airport which was eventually built was determined by this geographical factor. It is not coincidental that Sheffield is built on hills because the resultant rivers powered the development of its most famous industries, namely steel making and engineering.
The airport was built, after a consultants report, on a short-runway STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
PORT model similar to London City Airport
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
. It offered flights to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Dublin, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the airlines KLMuk, Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
, British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
and Aer Arann
Aer Arann
Aer Arann is a regional airline based in Dublin, Ireland. Aer Arann operates scheduled services from Ireland and the Isle of Man to destinations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, with a fleet of 18 aircraft. Aer Arann has expanded from a single aircraft to Ireland's third largest airline...
. The Amsterdam service was described by KLMuk as the best start-up they had ever experienced. It has been argued that it was this choice of the city airport model, coming immediately before the meteoric rise of the low cost airline
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
in the UK, that condemned the airport from the start: Sheffield arguably did not have enough commerce to support the sort of high-fare short-hop business flights that could use the airport, while aircraft types used by the new low-cost airlines, for which there is much demand in the Sheffield area, could not use the airport due to the length of its runway. It also suffered from the intractable problem of not having enough traffic to justify investing in a radar, while many airlines, it is alleged, were refusing to operate into the airport due to its lack of radar.
In the end the last scheduled airline pulled out in 2002, after the airport had passed into the hands of Peel Airports, who were shortly to be opening the nearby Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is an international airport located at the former RAF Finningley airbase at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster within South Yorkshire, England. The airport lies southeast of Doncaster and east of Sheffield.The airport is operated by Peel...
airport. By the time the last scheduled service was flown, the terminal interior had been converted to office accommodation. Fire and rescue cover and air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
staffing levels were both reduced and published procedures for instrument approaches were withdrawn, rendering the airport unattractive to the current generation of airlines which offer low-cost services with turboprop aircraft.
There has been a degree of controversy over whether there was any incentive for Peel to promote the airport. The original lease between the SDC and Tinsley Park Ltd included a reversionary clause permitting the acquisition of 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land for £1 providing, after 10 years of opening, it could be shown that the airport was financially not viable. The development is being marketed at up to £220 per square foot. The estimated worth of a business park, which is now planned, being at least £1,000,000.
Current status
An assessment commissioned by the City Council revealed it was losing £400,000 a year and was not sustainable. On 21 April 2008, the airport's CAA licence was withdrawn. The airport closed completely on 30 April 2008.The runway, as a part of the 80 acres (323,748.8 m²), has been sold and will be developed into the Blue Skies Business Park. A heliport at the east end of the site will stay open for use by the South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...
helicopter and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It was introduced on 1 April 2000, and currently operates two aircraft. The helicopters provide a swift response time and access to isolated locations, such as beaches,...
helicopter, both of which are based at Sheffield, but will not be available for use by other aircraft.
The site
The airport was built as part of a plan by the Sheffield Development Corporation to regenerate a very rundown old industrial area and to reclaim the land, which had previously been mined (coal) and was the site of derelict steelworks and waste tips. The opencast coal works were undertaken by R. J. Budge, who then planned to build the airport and business park once the site was reclaimed. The project was delayed part way through when Budge went into liquidation. The site was owned by the Sheffield Development Corporation until its demise when the asset was transferred, for no cost, to Sheffield City Council. As part of the scheme the link road was built, initially to take the coal lorries straight to the Sheffield ParkwaySheffield Parkway
The Sheffield Parkway is a major dual carriageway which runs between the City of Sheffield and junction 33 of the M1 in South Yorkshire, England. The 5.5 mile road was opened in 1974, and runs to the east of the City, connecting Park Square in the City centre with the inner ring road, outer ring...
and out to the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
. Following the completion of coal extraction and the reinstatement of the land, the link road was completed through to Tinsley. This allowed work to commence on the business park that was part of the 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of land that the SDC had given to the airport's developers. The road was funded by the EU and was essential to the original plan to reclaim the land. The site is between Tinsley Golf Course, the Sheffield Parkway
Sheffield Parkway
The Sheffield Parkway is a major dual carriageway which runs between the City of Sheffield and junction 33 of the M1 in South Yorkshire, England. The 5.5 mile road was opened in 1974, and runs to the east of the City, connecting Park Square in the City centre with the inner ring road, outer ring...
, Tinsley Marshalling Yard
Tinsley Marshalling Yard
Tinsley Marshalling Yard was a railway marshalling yard located near Tinsley in Sheffield. It was opened in 1965 as a part of a major plan to rationalise all aspects of the rail services in the Sheffield area, and closed in stages from 1985 with the run-down of rail freight in Britain. It was also...
s and British Steel
Outokumpu
Outokumpu is a group of companies headquartered in Espoo, Finland, aimed at stainless steel. The company has approx. 8 000 employees in about 30 different countries worldwide...
's Tinsley rolling mill. Following the financial problems of Tinsley Park Ltd, Peel Holdings bought into the airport and business park for an unknown sum.