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That's good news, Robin Hood Airport is a pain to get to from the motorway network compared to many other airports, it might mean that it will get more flights there.

It's always looked strange to me that both J3 and J4 only have Doncaster facing roads off them, there's not a lot of access at all to the east of the M18. Is there any route plans for this new link?

I guess getting proper access to Donny will probably be the final-final nail in Sheffield's small airport's coffin...

The government's aviation priorities are bizarre.

At Heathrow the airport is congested beyond belief at all times of the day, and it is the major gateway into the country, yet the government takes an anti-aviation stance on any improvement they may propose.

Meanwhile here is useless Doncaster Robin Hood, which just about staggered to 1m pasengers a year in 2007, and has fallen well down towards 3/4m since then, and has been given up by several operators, which manages to get government money.

If you don't believe me about the airport being useless, look at it on Google Earth - not a single airliner in the whole place when the photos were taken. Absolutely deserted.

Isn't one a product of the other? I've used it, it's a great airport - the facilities are excellent. What it suffers from is that you can't get to the damn thing.

That part of the country is lacking in airport access, IMO - Manchester is the nearest real hub and that's not a pleasant journey from Sheffield or Doncaster. East Midlands is some way to the south; Leeds/Bradford is unimpressively small and requires travelling through Leeds itself unless you happen to live in Harrogate. A decent sized airport serving the substantial population in that area would be viable, and I think Robin Hood has the potential to be that airport if only you could get there without a sherpa.

Just a decade in the making, quite quick by UK standards. I recall doing some work on this in circa 2002 along with the A57 Todwick scheme, it's good to see both making their way up the list.

Long term goal now should be to reduce Leeds to the status of local airport and concentrate on making Doncaster bigger and better - it's in a much more logical place than next to an overspill estate in Leeds where the nearest high speed road or any kind railway is 15 miles away.

Doncaster offers a decent motorway network, and access to the ECML. It's a no brainer.

I live close to Egcn (doncaster), and to be fair it does get pretty busy.
The airport has a bae training centre there, You have flights all over.
Wizzair have opened yet another route to latvia, Ryanair to Faro and Alicante , Rumor has it that there is another main airline interested in coming there, and in addition it is long enough for the airbus 380.
And if that wasn't all enough they have cargo traffic as well, In fact only last week a 747 was doing touch n go's all day long.

Well having a quick look at their departure board just now, at 1245, there are just FIVE departures through to midnight.

BE1165 Jersey 13:35
TOM3244 Tenerife-South 14:15
TOM3260 Alicante 15:05
FR4019 Faro 18:25
W61916 Poznan 21:25

They will be open through to midnight, because that Tenerife plane gets back shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, down here by Heathrow, there are more than five flights all lined up ready for takeoff in the next few minutes. Now that's what "pretty busy" means.

Proposed sites for the link, rail depot etc etc etc: clicky

Robin Hood Airport's position makes it a non-starter as a regional hub. It's just not near enough to Sheffield to be uncontroversially first choice from the main city in the area. Direct trains to Manchester Airport run hourly and take 1hr 15mins. Combine that with the fact that Manchester will have vastly more flights for the forseeable future and it becomes obvious that Doncaster has little scope for attracting major carriers (unless you count Ryanair - hardly a sign of hub-like qualities).

That said, there is obviously something of a market for the usual budget flights to Spain and Poland, and connections are pretty terrible at the moment. It's reasonable for the government to make something of a contribution to improving that, though certainly not £18m worth. However, the project is clearly directed towards a more general regeneration effort also involving the rail depot, and maybe it's worthwhile for that reason. In other words, the airport is only a part (maybe a small part) of the story.

Thanks - looks good, and will open up the areas around the airport and Rossington nicely (which needs doing). Also, it might mean that there may be some point to the Park and Ride site next to the A638 as the new road will pass by it.

I guess it will be S2 or WS2 and carry the A6182 name?

A great stand up routine from (I think) Alun Cochrane on last weeks "The NOW Show" - podcast and listen again available for 7 days - He's pretty near the end. A great satirical look on the Sheffield wanting an airport problem...

Perhaps part of the point is to spread foreign flights throughout the UK. Although a visitor could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, not all of us live in or near London.

I recall seeing something from Robin Hood a few years ago showing how many people lived within a hour of the place. Can't recall the number but it's a surprisingly large number.

When the link gets built it'll be 5 minutes max from the M18. You can't say Leeds/Bradford is that close to a motorway.

Edit. Oh the shame of it! I've just realised I've agreed with a Lancastrian . Which just to show that they aren't all that bad, eh Bryn?

I assume you don't mean "any kind railway" literally. Leeds-Bradford airport is within two or three miles of three or four railways: from Leeds to Harrogate, Bradford and Ilkley, and from Bradford to Ilkley.

Quite right. Leeds/Bradford was constructed in the silliest place imaginable - from a population, transport and aviation point of view. Harrogate International would be a far better name for it as you suggest, Chris. It should have been built closer to say, Lofthouse, or between Leeds and Sheffield.

So failing that, yes - Robin Hood is not a bad location, and certainly serves South and East Yorks pretty well. I'd like to see it develop as a regional hub - if not *the* regional hub. To that end, a good motorway link will help get it there.

I live very close to Robin hood Airport. I could be there on an express bus from the bottom of my street in 10 mins.
I tried very hard to find flights to "somewhere nice" at february half term and this easter Holiday.
I've just landed today from Italy. I ended up flying to - from Manchester.
If someone like me actively trying to use the airport finds it posssible / cheaper to go to Manchester to fly then I'm not sure how much good my local airport is.
However the actual road its self would be VERY handy for me getting onto the mororway from bawtry.

There is now a public showing of the plans for the new Road Scheme. According to the leaflet it is to start works in summer 2012.

http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/Images/FARRRS%20leaflet%20web%20version_tcm2-83357.pdf
http://www.robinhoodairport.com/news-ticker/farrrs-have-your-say-on-doncaster-s-major-road-scheme.html

Will be good for the airport and the locality in General. And hving read the Whiterose way scheme the second phase of that starts in April, I had assumed it would be half done ala the A1(M). And picked up later.

This is for the Dualing of the White Rose way in Doncaster from the M18
http://www.mhaweb.org.uk/dmbc_001_white_rose_way_brochure_final.pdf

Also Came across these Schemes listed, Some I have never heard of. I wonder if they are still on the books?.
M18-A614 link road (J4);
• M180-Hatfield/Stainforth link road (J5);
• B6094 Conisbrough link road (new M18 junction)
• A1(M)-A19 link road.
• Hickleton & Marr By- Pass
• West Moor Link dualling

Link here to a word document.... http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/Images/Core%20Strategy%20from%20Options%20to%20preferred%20Options_tcm2-32145.doc

And one for the Inland poer etc...

http://www.helioslough.com/inlandport/planning/Resource/Planning-Application/Development-Specification/Development-Specification-Final.pdf

either way a bit of good news for the area!

I went to the consultation meeting in Rossington this morning.

For me the most interesting item was the change in the nature of the junction at Parrots Corner from the original published ideas.

I would also say that the map on the Farrrs leaflet does not show this proposed junction accurately. The detailed plans on show were much more informative.

Here, the proposed roundabout is to be replaced with a staggered light controlled junction in which the main line of the A638 from the south now becomes the new link road, with a turning to the right onto the old road through Bessacarr and then a few yards further a turning to the left into Rossington.
Hence the preferred line for me traveling from Bawtry into Doncaster would be diverted along the new link road and White Rose Way.
On the more detailed plans the route of the A638 and its continuation along the link road is shown as a much more gradual curve than suggested on the Farrrs leaflet.

This led me to wonder whether the link road and White Rose Way might take the number A638 as it does provide a sensible north south route through Doncaster.