Prescott delays over airport decision

The empty hangers would become commercial buildings

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has asked for more information before he makes a decision on proposals for a new airport in South Yorkshire.

It means another delay in the planning process to turn the former RAF base at Finningley, near Doncaster, into a commercial operation.

Mr Prescott has asked to see more details of a housing development that forms part of the plans.

He wants to know if the plans meet a real need for homes in the area and whether the buildings will be of a high enough standard.

Public Inquiry

Peel Airports, the developers of the site, have been given several weeks to reply.

They claim Finningley Airport would create 7,300 jobs over the next decade.

The company is planning 24-hour flights, claiming it will handle 60,000 tonnes of freight and up to 2.3 million passengers a year.

The results of a public inquiry into the proposals were given to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in March 2002.

Campaigners on both sides have been waiting for a decision ever since.

But Mr Prescott is now unlikely to make his final recommendation until the end of March.