£100m airport plan to create jobs

Work on the development will start in the spring

Sheffield City Airport is to close and a £100m business park will be built on the site, it has been announced.

The airport has not carried out commercial flights since 2002 but firms have been running pleasure flights and flying lessons from the site.

A spokesman for Sheffield City Airport Ltd said the airport would close in April and companies and employees working there had been informed.

He said the business park would create 2,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.

Called Blue Skies, the park would replace part of the current runway.

A heliport will also be created, and will provide a base for the South Yorkshire Police helicopter, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and other community services.

Redundancies 'unavoidable'

The spokesman said: "Blue Skies business park will add value to the exciting ongoing regeneration of the region, creating a significant number of jobs.

"At the same time, Sheffield City Heliport will play a vital role in the provision of emergency services to South Yorkshire communities."

The spokesman said 15 jobs would be affected by the plans.

"The site will become an unlicensed heliport and consequently a number of positions will become redundant.

"This is an unfortunate but unavoidable measure and every effort is being made to secure alternative jobs for the individuals affected."

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has used the airport as a base for its new second helicopter since October 2007.

The South Yorkshire Police helicopter operations will be moved from the far end of the runway to an enhanced facility alongside the former terminal building.